Stupidest Things Smart People Do - Business Insider

http://www.businessinsider.com/the-stupidest-things-smart-people-do-2014-5

7 Stupid Ways Smart People Sabotage Their Success

Flickr/Christopher Michel

Some smart people can be insufferably elitist.

Sometimes the smartest people do things that seem to make no sense at all.

A group of Quora users drew from their experiences to address the question, "What are some stupid things that smart people do?" The answers provide ways to overcome some of the common ways intelligent people unknowingly undermine themselves.

We've highlighted a few below.

1. They spend too much time thinking and not enough time doing.

"Because thinking comes so easily to smart people, doing becomes relatively harder. Research and planning are great in moderation, but can offer the dangerous illusion of progress," says Silicon Valley entrepreneur Chris Yeh. Smart people who are perfectionists can get caught up in this kind of seemingly productive procrastination and often nitpick over minute details rather than finishing projects.

2. They follow the pack.

Venture for America's Andrew Yang has written extensively about the trend of top college graduates going into the same few industries equated with "making it," like finance and consulting, rather than following their passions. New York entrepreneur Lee Semel agrees: "Many smart people often seem to be followers, probably because they grow up spending so much time pleasing others via academic and extracurricular achievement that they never figure out what they really like to work on or try anything unique."

3. They stop trying.

People whose intelligence has helped them achieve a level of success can often get lazy. "These smart people fail to further develop their natural talents and eventually fall behind others who, while less initially talented, weren't as invested in being smart and instead spent more time practicing," Semel says.

4. They undervalue social skills.

Some intelligent people don't realize that intellect is only one element of achieving success and that personal connections are everything in the professional world. "They never try to improve their social skills, learn to network, or self promote, and often denigrate people who excel in these areas," Semel says.

5. They place being right above all else.

Many smart people indulge a dangerous combination of ego and logic and behave as though being right all the time is somehow endearing (it's the opposite), Semel says. It's bad when they argue a point they're misinformed about, but it can be even more embarrassing for them when they insist on arguing facts against someone's long-held beliefs.

6. They equate education with intelligence.

A high academic pedigree can make some people think that where someone got their college degree reflects how smart they are, says Liz Pullen, a sociologist. In many cases, a degree from an elite university represents a great achievement, but there are countless instances where those who didn't graduate college are more qualified for a job because of their real-world experience.

7. They are too independent.

Smart people can fail to develop healthy support systems that everyone needs to succeed. "Without a good support system, anyone can begin to slide down a slippery slope when they encounter hardship, miscalculate something major, or fall victim to the misdeeds of others," says Quora user Andrea Martin. How do you develop a good support system? "Methodically place yourself in the company of the most mature, benevolent, competent people you can identify."

Yup, way too independant.

~A.

http://educate-yourself.org/cn/monoatomicgoldthinktwice15aug05.shtml

Mono Atomic Gold -Think Twice

Mono Atomic Gold -Think Twice

From Ken Adachi, Editor
http://educate-yourself.org/cn/monoatomicgoldthinktwice15aug05.shtml
August 15, 2005

A few years ago, I've inserted the following Precautionary Note into Chapter 10C of Fritz Springmeier/Cisco Wheeler's on-line book , The Illuminati Formula to Create an Undetectable Total Mind Control Slave in a section that touched upon David Hudson and the promotion/use of mono atomic gold. Since writing that note, my concerns about taking mono atomic gold have only grown as I continue to stumble upon more and more indications that the entire promotion of mono atomic gold is an Illuminati deception.

Today (August 15, 2005), I found yet another article cautioning against mono atomic gold posted at www.rense.com (re posted below). The anonymous author of the rense.com article poses the following question:

"Are we possibly dealing with a very long-term agenda somehow extending all the way back to the days of the Roman Empire -- and beyond?"

You should be asking yourself the same question and think twice about mono atomic gold

Update Jan. 10, 2009: My initials concerns about taking mono atomic gold were arounsed by Ashayana Deane (formerly Anna Hayes) in her 1998 radio interviews with Jeff Rense (more details below). In February 2009, I was sent a letter by a man named White Owl which greatly expanded my understanding of the deceptive allure surrounding the use of mono atomic gold and its reputation for opening doors to other vibratory planes. Be sure to read his article after reviewing the information presented below:

White Owl on The Dangers of Monoatomic Gold & 'Enki' Aliens (Feb. 4, 2009)
http://educate-yourself.org/cn/whiteowlmonoatomicgoldenkialiens04feb09.shtml

Ken Adachi

*****

http://educate-yourself.org/mc/illumformula10Cchap.shtml

Precautionary note from Ken Adachi:

[Readers should be aware that Anna Hayes mentions in her books that taking mono atomic gold is ultimately harmful. She claims that the initial growth of psychic awareness is not permanent, but rather levels off and later declines. Further, she says that the promotion of mono atomic gold is an Illuminati deception. While attracting the public with sugar plums of enhanced psychic clarity and improved health, the ulterior purpose of promoting mono atomic gold is to cause the destruction of the ten additional virtual DNA strands which all humans possess and which are now manifesting into 3D reality as seen with the 3, 4, or even 5 strands of DNA that now show up in the blood of Blue Indigo (Millennium) children.

The destruction of the ten virtual DNA strands (unseen with 3rd dimension microscopes, but nevertheless still there in the higher 4th dimensional vibratory plane) prevents a human from activating these higher dimensional DNA strands and prevents access to higher spiritual awareness and telepathic abilities, as humans and mother Earth gradually increase our base vibratory frequency and ascend into the fourth dimension (a process that began in 1987 and will likely reach completion somewhere between 2018 and 2025). The activation of more than two strands of DNA is apparently necessary to exist in physical form in the fourth dimension. So now, the hidden purpose behind the promotion of mono atomic gold is perhaps becoming more evident: the Illuminati, the militarists, the satanists, the corrupt politicians, etc., and all those who serve the Dark Master, Lucifer, will not be allowed to reincarnate on a fourth dimensional Earth.

Thus, being confined to the 3rd dimension, the Illuminati wishes to keep their human slaves with them and not lose them to the joy, peace, and freedom of a higher dimensional Earth. When you consider that Sir Laurence Gardner, a high Illuminati insider (and full blooded Reptilian) has been continuously touting the glories of mono atomic gold in every radio interview show he's appeared on for the past few years (along with William Henry), you have to ask yourself, "should I embrace the recommendations of a satanist and high Illuminati front man or should I be running in the opposite direction as fast as I can?"]

Excerpt from Chap. 10C, The Illuminati Formula to Create an Undetectable Total Mind Control Slave

http://educate-yourself.org/mc/illumformula10Cchap.shtml

THE PHILOSOPHER'S STONE
One of the major goals of Alchemy was "The preparation of aurum potabile, liquid gold, a sovereign remedy, because gold being itself perfect could produce peffection in the human frame." -quoted from The History of Chemistry as quoted by Manly P. Hall in his The Secret Teachings of All Ages, p. CLV. Gold has long been called the metal of wisdom by the Illuminati. The Illuminati are well aware of the alchemical quest to create the correct type of gold which will bring enlightment to the world. The Rabbi's, who know the Cabala, have considered the secret of white powdered gold the greatest secret of all times. Somehow the Egyptian Pharaoh's had learned the secret of how to make white powdered gold which when seen up close is transparent--like the gold described in the Bible as making up the streets in heaven.

This gold is monotonic (with molecules in a high spin state), and looks like baking flour. It greatly enhances the pineal gland, and a similar substance of iridium greatly enhances the pituitary gland. Regular yellow gold or gold salts will cause the hair of the subject to fall out, but white gold is safe to ingest. After ingesting the white gold for over 9 months, a subject will become extremely psychic and disease free. The person's body will also glow. Whether the Illuminati discovered this white gold, and have been using it secretly when their adepts went into hiding for months of long training, or whether they were only playing with substitutes we cannot say. (By the way, some occult groups groom slaves in the craft for 24 hours a day for a year.) At any rate, in recent years a man named David Hudson, who is of the Holy Blood line (13th Illuminati Bloodline, of the de Guise lineage), discovered and patented white gold. He named the white gold Ormus, which is the occult name for the Prieure de Sion.

Ormus also pertains to Gnosticism in the ancient world. Ormus is also the Hebrew words for "golden tree", which David finds appropriate since this white gold is the elixir of life that the sho-bread (& manna) was made from. This is said to be the reason the Priest glowed when he came out of the Holy of Holies, after eating the sho-bread. David Hudson, told co-author Fritz that he was supportive of the cabalistic goal of Adam Kadmon. Because Hudson knew the cabala very well, it seems likely that he understands what Adam Kadmon is really all about. Monarch slaves of the House of Rothschild have revealed how the Illuminati are able to do what they call Proxying.

This is a Mind-Spirit transfer, done by the 1.twinning traumas, 2. channeling, 3. telepathic communication, and 4. astral projection so that all slaves worldwide are being pulled into one single interlinked Demonic One World Mind [this is the so called 'hive mind' characteristic of the Reptilian alien groups that dominate and interbreed with the human Illuminati..Ken Adachi]. We do not understand how white gold and iridium help the body become a semi-conductor so that the body is highly psychic, but it does. We hope to find out more. David Hudson has the patent (U.S. patent and some international patents) on white gold. There are a number of scientific studies on white gold which verify the power of white gold on the human body. When the co-author Fritz Springmeier talked to David Hudson, he certainly knows the occult world exceptionally well, besides being skilled in the Cabala. He claims he has nothing to do with the occult world, and that he stays away from the Illuminati. He says that he took what was occult and turned it into science. The co-author's talk with him left many questions. David Hudson has given mankind the most important secret that has captivated the best minds of the occult world for centuries, the Quest for the Philosopher's Stone.

*****

Covalent Attachment Of Gold Nanoparticles To DNA
From Anonymous

http://www.rense.com/general67/gold.htm
8-15-5

Jeff,

In view of the discussion in recent years in the alternative press and websites of the use of monoatomic gold for esoteric purposes by secret societies and shadowy military-industrial alchemists -- WELL -- please note the following research which involves the covalent bonding of gold nanoparticles to replicable DNA templates at Oak Ridge National Labortaories in Tennesse.

Note the URL as well -- CESAR.

Are we possibly dealing with a very long-term agenda somehow extending all the way back to the days of the Roman Empire -- and beyond? Who or what is the real power behind the the military-industrial complex and its many compartmentalized, high-tech projects?

Are there currents and players in history that conceal themselves down through the millennia, but that have front personnel and agencies that they use to further their plans in every age?"

The story -

http://www.cesar.ornl.gov/nanotechnology.html

Covalent Attachment of Gold Nanoparticles to DNA Templates

Highlight Current Research Research Accomplishments


Fig. 1
AFM images of thioctic acid-coated gold nanoparticles bound to ligated DNA on a mica substrate.

Fig. 1: Typical products of the reaction between DNA and gold particles.

The ability to assemble nanoparticles into arrays, networks, and circuits in a precise and controlled manner is key to the fabrication of a variety of nanodevices. Networks of nanometer-sized metal or semiconductor islands, or quantum dots, may exhibit a variety of quantum phenomena, with applications in optical devices, nanometer-sized sensors, advanced computer architectures, ultra dense memories, and quantum-information science and technology. The challenge is that fabrication with nanoscale precision of nanoparticle arrays in a time and cost effective manner remains a formidable task. Interest in the concept of self-assembled nanostructures led to the idea of using DNA as a scaffold or template for the programmed assembly of nanoscale arrays. DNA can be modified with functional groups at predetermined sites to allow for the attachment of other molecules in a specific manner. We have designed and demonstrated a new approach for binding nanoparticles to DNA. Functionalized nanoparticles are covalently bound to internal, chemically modified bases on double-stranded DNA without the presence of destabilizing "nicks" along the DNA backbone. In addition, we report an approach for thiolating one end of the DNA/nanoparticle product and attaching it to a gold surface. The ability to attach one or both ends of the DNA/gold complex, after generation of the desired pattern, to fixed contacts or electrodes is necessary for nanodevices fabrication.

Fig. 2
Fig. 2: Close-up of DNA bound to gold particles.

DNA oligonucleotides were designed with amino-modified bases for attachment to carboxylic acid functionalized gold particles. Two double-stranded DNA sequences were used for binding nanoparticles. Sequence 1 DNA was 22 base pairs long with two binding sites for gold per DNA molecule. The separation between gold binding sites was 3.7 nm. Sequence 2 DNA was 30 base pairs long, had one gold binding site per DNA molecule, and, after ligation, a 10.5 nm separation between binding sites. For AFM imaging, the DNA was ligated to produce longer molecules that would be easier to image. Gold nanoparticles with two different passivating coatings were tested. Particles with an average diameter of 1.5 nm were synthesized with a mercaptosuccinic acid coating, and particles approximately 2.5 nm in size were coated with thioctic acid Each particle has multiple reactive carboxyl groups on its surface. In order to decrease the probability for one particle binding to many amino groups on the DNA, methylamine was used to block some of the carboxyl groups on the gold. Methylamine was chosen for this purpose because of its small size and similarity to the methylene side chain containing the amino group on the DNA. The reaction between the amino group on the DNA and the carboxyl group on the gold particle was facilitated using a standard chemical method for joining carboxyl groups to amino groups. Analysis of the products by gel electrophoresis and atomic force microscopy (AFM) showed the gold particles bound to the DNA. In addition, absorbance spectra of the gold nanoparticles in the presence of DNA provide evidence of binding. This technique addresses a basic need to assemble nanometer-scale objects in a programmable manner and in a parallel fashion, from the bottom up.

Research by K. A. Stevenson, G. Muralidharan, L. Maya, J. C. Wells, J. Barhen, and T.G. Thundat, Center for Engineering Science Advanced Research, ORNL; for details see "Covalent Attachement of Gold Nanoparticles to DNA Templates", J. Nanosci. Nanotech (submitted, 2002).

---

Caution

http://www.life-enthusiast.com/ormus/orm_caution.htm

Barry Carter wrote this summary recently about the past experiences of the pioneers of this research:

The material that Hudson supplied to people contained about half a percent of ORMUS gold.

The gentleman who fasted for 43 days and had the kundalini awakening experience did not take any pure ORMUS gold during that period. Much later he took "very little" ORMUS gold for "not very long".

David Hudson also implied that this gentleman was going through the "Egyptian Rite of Passage" which was a nine month process which started with a fast and ended with the person becoming a "light being" himself:

"According to the "Secrets of the Golden Flower", it takes 10 lunar months, which happens to be the same as the Egyptian's said, 9 solar months, same time frame, but at the end of this, at the ninth month, he literally becomes a light being. It's the breaking through of the cosmic egg, and he literally becomes a light being, capable of levitating and capable of bio-locating. To literally disappear here and reappear someplace else."

Hudson suggested that this gentleman would become a "light being" if he continued to take the powder for nine months in his 1995 Dallas lecture. A July 27, 1996 interview with this gentleman revealed that he started the fast "About two years ago". At the time of the interview he said "I still take material but I don't take it in that volume". He also admitted that he had not bio-located.

Despite these facts, David Hudson continued to imply that ingesting the white powder for nine months, after a forty day fast, would enable one to have some sort of ultimate transcendent experience. Hudson continued to imply this as late as his 1999 lecture in Dallas. When asked what had happened to the gentleman who had done the fast he said something like that the gentleman had quit taking the material before the nine months were up.

Here are the problems that I see might arise from some of these misconceptions:

People might think that a forty-day fast while ingesting the m-state materials will inevitably lead to "enlightenment". There is no evidence that this is true. In fact the gentleman who did the fast suggested that it was not true at all when he said:

"I knew what to do. But there are very, very few people who do. This takes place internally. It's an active process. You're not going to sit there and have this zip through you and all of the sudden these wonderful things are there. It can't be that way. That's not the way the circuit is set up in your system. Your chakras and realizations are not built that way. Nothing is built that way. And to expect something outside of that is absolute foolishness."

People often mistake the signposts of psychic powers and kundalini awakening for the destination. In a sense, there is no destination since this implies an end of change. If someone gets to a psychic or kundalini awakened space and hangs there then they are clinging to the signpost and will not be able to proceed on the road as long as they are attached to the signpost.

A kundalini awakened American engineer named Gary, in one of his private posts to me, described one of the greatest dangers of mistaking the signpost for the destination:

"Hudson's mind is not open to new ideas at this point, and he will stay like that for some time. Some of his associates can even be described as quite hostile towards my article, like the ORMEs-consumer interviewed on the moderated forum. Kundalini amplifies arrogance, just like everything else, and I find I still have problems with it myself, despite 7 years of steady work on it. One day, they will see it truly though."

This "arrogance" is something that might reasonably be seen as a correlate of the development of psychic "powers" in advance of an expansion of one's heart in love. I see love as the connecting factor in All That Is. It is the universal quantum coherent glue, which binds us all together.

I am sure that each of us can think of someone who has attained kundalini awakening or psychic powers yet her or his behavior remains aggressive and disrespectful. Both psychic abilities and kundalini awakening can be seen by the individual who achieves them as validation of their personal power to attract what they want. Their ego is fed by these things but their love suffers.

Despite his awareness of the problems associated with arrogance and kundalini awakening Gary wrote me the following in a note just before he died on July 4, 1998:

"I have nearly completed my preparations, to make a personal physical transformation. Nothing quite like this has ever been done before, throughout the history of all past ages of man upon this planet, thus success is by no means assured. But, these are times without precedent, and when much is at stake, the risks and costs are correspondingly high.

However, if like Jacob, I prevail with God, there will be a sign in the sky, beginning during that night separating July 3rd and 4th. The heavens shall then become red, like a refiner's fire, and you may safely watch this with everyone else.

If this takes place, it will be explained as the Earth unexpectedly encountering and passing through a cloud of energetically ionized krypton gas; such is to be acknowledged, but is only a small, ancillary physical-level effect, and hardly the First Cause. I will meet with you thereafter."

Another kundalini awakened colleague who is both a scientist and a mystic wrote the following after having some kundalini experiences triggered by m-state materials:

"The contacts that I have been getting from Gary have only intensified over the last few days, as I shared with you today. I feel there is a strong message here for all ORMUS seekers.

Far from everyone's expectations, the ORMUS material may end up addicting if used carelessly and more "binding" rather than "liberating". It does not, in fact, produce any "release" from the cycle of birth-and-death. It only lifts what is normally dense - our embodiment, our mental and habitual tendencies - up to a notch, to what is less dense, or more subtle.

The subtle qualities, as for example a kundalini arousal, a samadhi, or even a psychic faculty, are often aspired by everyone as indicative of "attainment". This could not be farther from truth. The Truth embodies everything, the subtle, the dense, and even nothing whatsoever. What is more dense - our reality - is not, in fact, one iota farther away from Truth, nor is the subtle any closer.

"Going into the light" means going into another realm of phenomena, however subtle it may be. In this regard it is still a realm of illusion. It has not, in fact, transcended birth-and-decay.

Even the complete destruction of ego, as Gary was often fond of saying, does not mean complete liberation. For, in the end, all of us still hold to a dharma, a truth, something to be expounded, a view. True liberation, the transcendence of it all, comes only when even the subtle views that we have of enlightenment, of each other, of a Truth however Universal it may seem, e.g., all this garbage that is our reality solidified, can be completely relinquished.

By grasping so firmly onto fine points that discriminate this hypothetical versus some other hypothetical, one clearly demonstrates that in the end there is still a view, something that needs to be explained, some theory to be explored, some truth to be shared, some attachment that needs to be severed.

This is all being written in fact for Gary's benefit and for anyone who thinks that ORMUS can bring short cuts."

Here is a final caution about this from another gentleman who has been described as a "master alchemist":

"Traditionally alchemists spent years preparing their students mentally for the internal application of such substances. Meditation, intellectual apprehension of divine process, a strict moral code and a deep understanding of self and the magickal nature of human relationships were considered necessary pre-requisites. I know from much personal experience that high end metallic preparations open ones mind to a vision of the true nature of reality very quickly. Most aspirants starting out on a spiritual path think this would be great - thinking that this process simply involves 'knowing cool stuff'. But the sad fact is that the Truth hurts, and the average seeker quickly discovers that they don't want the Truth and the "responsibility" that comes with it. Knowing the truth means acting in accordance with it or suffering the dreadful consequences. Until you understand how far away the average persons behaviours are from being productive - in line with the Truth - it is almost impossible to understand what I am suggesting here. In most cases arrogance will force persons forward and will have them taking powerful elixirs that in the last analysis will prove to be poisons for their unprepared systems.

Alchemists did not just die from inhaling mercury fumes, or from lead poisoning. They also died from taking the actual Elixirs and the Stone itself ... because they were not sufficiently prepared."

MSM and other sulfur nutrients appear to require an additional triggering factor in order to convert ORMUS to metal in the body. In the three situations that I know about the person was exposed to high energy electromagnetic forces in conjunction with the metallic gold fibers that came out of their skin. One of these people was Jim but another told me her story after hearing about Jim last November when I was in Australia. She said that she and a client also had gold fibers come out of her skin. When I questioned her about the circumstances she said that both of them had been taking MSM and had just been "treated" with an electromagnetic frequency device.

I suspect that the extra electromagnetic energy breaks the Cooper paired electrons and that the sulfur gives them something to grab onto. I discuss this more thoroughly in my workshops but I have not taken the time to write it up before.

---

Related

White Owl on The Dangers of Monoatomic Gold & 'Enki' Aliens (Feb. 4, 2009)
http://educate-yourself.org/cn/whiteowlmonoatomicgoldenkialiens04feb09.shtml

Update: Ashayana Deane (Anna Hayes) on Monoatomic Gold (May 17, 2007)
http://educate-yourself.org/lte/AshayanaDeaneonwhitegold17sep06.shtml

Anna Hayes on Mono Atomic Gold: A Hidden Reptilian Agenda to Undermine DNA Activation
http://educate-yourself.org/cn/annahayesmonoatomicgold2000.shtml

David Icke on Monoatomic Gold
http://educate-yourself.org/cn/davidickemonoatomicgold.shtml

Reader Comments

Mono Atomic Gold: What's the Sense of it? (Jan. 10, 2011)
http://educate-yourself.org/lte/monoatomicgold10jan11.shtml

Doesn't Monoatomic Gold Work Similar to Colloidal Silver? (Nov. 19, 2010)
http://educate-yourself.org/lte/colloidalgold19nov10.shtml

Monotomic Gold...Again (Jan. 24, 2007)
http://educate-yourself.org/lte/monoatomicgoldagain24jan07.shtml

'I Want My Colloidal Gold!' (Nov. 23, 2006)
http://educate-yourself.org/lte/colloidalgoldgroupie23nov06.shtml

Another Inquiry About White Powder Gold (Monotomic Gold) June 7, 2006
http://educate-yourself.org/lte/moreonwhitepowdergold07jun06.shtml

RE: Mono Atomic Gold -Think Twice (Aug. 18, 2005)
http://educate-yourself.org/lte/monoatomicgoldfeedbackA18aug05.shtml

© Copyright 2005 Educate-Yourself.org  All Rights Reserved.

glowing, sounds good.

~A.

http://french.about.com/od/vocabulary/a/Most-Common-French-Phrases.htm

Most Common French Phrases

Take a look at this list to learn some of the most useful and common French phrases. Only the most common translation(s) are provided here, so please click the links for more detailed information about each phrase.

à cause de   because of, due to
ah bon (?)   oh really? I see
à la fois   at the same time
à la française   in the French style or manner
à la limite   at most, in a pinch
à la rigueur   or even, if need be
à la une   front page news
à la vôtre !   cheers!
allons-y !   let's go!
à mon avis   in my opinion
à peine   hardly
à peu près   about, approximately, nearly
a priori   at first glance, in principle
à tes souhaits   bless you
au cas où   just in case
au contraire   on the contrary
au fait   by the way
au fur et à mesure   as, while
au lieu de   instead of, rather than
avoir l'air (de)   to look (like)


bien dans sa peau   content, comfortable, at ease with oneself
bien entendu   of course, obviously
bien sûr   of course
blague à part   seriously, all kidding aside
Bon anniversaire !   Happy birthday!
Bon appétit !   Enjoy your meal!
Bon débarras !   Good riddance!
bon marché   inexpensive, cheap
un bon rapport qualité-prix   good value


ça alors   how about that, my goodness
ça marche   ok, that works
ça m'est égal   it's all the same to me
ça ne fait rien   never mind, it doesn't matter
ça va (?)   how's it going?, I'm fine
ça vaut le coup   it's worth it
c'est   it is
c'est-à-dire   that is, i.e., I mean
c'est parti   here we go, and we're off
c'est pas vrai !   no way!
ce n'est pas grave   it doesn't matter, no problem
ce n'est pas terrible   it's not that great
comme d'habitude, comme d'hab   as usual
un coup de fil   phone call
un coup d'œil   glance, quick look


d'ailleurs   moreover, might I add
déjà vu   already seen
de rien   you're welcome
de trop   too much / many
dis donc / dites donc   wow, by the way
du coup   as a result
du jour au lendemain   overnight
du tout   not/none at all


en effet   indeed, that's right
en fait   in fact
enfin   well, I mean
en retard   late
entendre dire que   to hear (it said) that
entendre parler de   to hear (someone talk) about
entre chien et loup   at dusk, twilight
est-ce que   (turns statement into question)
et j'en passe   and that's not all
et patati et patata   and so on and so forth
être en train de   to be ___ing   


faire cadeau   to give (something), to let off easily   
faire le pont   to make it a long weekend   
fais gaffe   watch out, be careful
fais voir   let me see
figure-toi   guess what, get this
'fin   well, I mean


grâce à   thanks to


il est   it is
il faut   it's necessary
il y a   there is, there are
il y a quelque chose qui cloche   something's amiss


J'arrive !   I'm on my way!
j'en passe et des meilleures   and that's not all
J'en peux plus   I can't take (it) any more
Je n'en reviens pas   I can't believe it
Je n'y peux rien   There's nothing I can do about it.
Je n'y suis pour rien   It's got nothing to do with me
je t'aime   I love you


Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité   France's motto


ma foi   frankly, well, indeed
métro, boulot, dodo   the rat race


n'est-ce pas ?   right? isn't that so?
n'importe quoi   whatever


oh là là   oh dear, oh no
on ne sait jamais   you never know
on peut se tutoyer ?   can we use tu?
On y va ?   Shall we go? Ready?


par contre   whereas, on the other hand
par exemple   for example, such as; oh my, well really!
pas de problème   no problem
pas du tout   not at all
pas mal   not bad, quite a bit
pas terrible   not that great, nothing special
plus ça change...   the more things change...
prendre une décision   to make a decision


quand même   anyway, really, finally
quand on parle du loup   speak of the devil


revenons à nos moutons   let's get back to the subject at hand
rien à voir   nothing to do with


sans blague   seriously, all kidding aside
si ce n'est pas indiscret   if it's not too personal a question
si tu veux   if you will


tant mieux   it's just as well, even better
tant pis   oh well, too bad, tough
tel quel   as is, just like that; mediocre
tiens   here you go, there you are
tout à coup   all of a sudden
tout à fait   absolutely, exactly
tout à l'heure   in a moment, a moment ago
tout de suite   right away, immediately
tout d'un coup   all at once
tu connais la musique   you know the routine
tu m'étonnes   tell me something I don't know
tu te rends compte ?   can you imagine?


valoir le coup   to be worth it
vis-à-vis (de)   facing, in relation to
Vive la France !   Long live France!
voilà   there is, that's it


....and a preferred vintage, you're good to go.

~A.

http://www.businessinsider.my/kids-books-adults-should-read-2014-2/#.U38hitq9KSM

23 Children's Books You Need To Read Again As An Adult

Amazon

Kids love this 1936 story about a bull who doesn't want to fight, but it was actually seen as propaganda and banned by Hitler.

In case you needed an excuse to reread all your favorite kids' books again, it just so happens that there are a lot of important life lessons, conspiracy theories, and hidden messages in the books we loved as children — we just probably didn't pick up on them back then.

With help from The New York Public Library's Youth Materials Specialist, Betsy Bird, we put together a list of 23 books worth giving a second read.

"Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day" by Judith Viorst

Illustrated by Ray Cruz, this book tells kids that even after the worst day imaginable, tomorrow will be better — a lesson even adults need to remind themselves of once in a while.

Soon to be adapted for the silver screen featuring the likes of Jennifer Garner and Steve Carell, it's worth giving this book another read before the movie release in October.

Buy the book here »

"All-of-a Kind Family" by Sydney Taylor

Many kids' books with Jewish characters are about the Holocaust. It can be difficult to find kids' books that portray Jewish families in the everyday, but that's exactly what Taylor's book does.

Starring five young sisters in early 20th century New York City, young and old readers alike will learn about classic Jewish traditions as well as some interesting New York history from the perspective of a charming family.

Buy the book here »

"The Cat in the Hat" by Dr. Seuss

An entertaining read for kids about a talking cat who causes mayhem for a couple of kids while their parents are out, "The Cat in the Hat" is an interesting intellectual challenge for adults, says Bird.

After Seuss' publisher commissioned him to write a book using just 225 young reader vocabulary words, "The Cat in the Hat" was born. Try counting them all, if you can.

Buy the book here »

"Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs" by Judi Barrett

Who isn't enchanted by a story of food raining from the sky? "Cloudy" is a magical tale that requires a little suspended disbelief, and a darker sense of humor — especially when it comes to Ron Barrett's illustrations.

We find Barrett's morbid sense of humor in the tiny details, like the heads of baby dolls impaled on the front of a truck or the terrified bird returning to its nest, which has been crushed by a fried egg. They're details you probably didn't notice as a kid, but as an adult, you sure will.

Buy the book here »

"Eloise" by Kay Thompson

Eloise is the sassy little girl who stars in Thompson's famous book series who lives a surprisingly glamorous life for a six-year-old.

The book is also chock-full of jokes for adults, says Bird, as Eloise is really the children's book alter ego of Thompson, who spent many years of her life as a cabaret performer and vocal coach to many legendary singers.

Buy the book here »

"The Giver" by Lois Lowry

Before "The Hunger Games" and "Divergent," "The Giver" was every young adult's introduction into the world of dystopian fiction novels. It follows Jonas, a 12-year-old boy who is chosen to receive all the world's memories, both good and bad, to take the burden off of his community from having to know them.

Its powerful message is intensified as an adult, and even more themes become present in second or third readings.

Buy the book here »

"The Great Gilly Hopkins" by Katherine Paterson

Sometimes it feels like characters in children's books are too likable, says Bird, but not Gilly Hopkins in Paterson's short novel. Bouncing from foster home to foster home has given her a mean spirit, but she's also sympathetic.

This is a book to read again, after "The Lord of the Rings," when you'll better appreciate the fact that Gilly is actually her nickname (her full name is Galadriel).

Buy the book here »

"Harriet the Spy" by Louise Fitzhugh

Already a bit of an outsider, after Harriet's spy notebook gets into the hands of her classmates — who she's been bashing on the pages for months — they decide to make her life hell by humiliating and excluding her in school.

Grown-ups may pick up on the subtle references to Harriet being a lesbian, which, if they read the book as kids in the '60s when it was released, could be the reason kids who were also a bit different felt a kinship with Harriet.

Buy the book here »

"Hatchet" by Gary Paulsen

The gripping tale of 13-year-old Brian lost in the backcountry of Canada with nothing but a small axe, "Hatchet" details the skills Brian teaches himself to survive.

Kids enjoy it for Brian's ingenuity and creative thinking; adults will enjoy it again for its realism, and may even find themselves comparing the story to real-life news events.

Buy the book here »

"The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" by C.S. Lewis

Bird suggests returning to C.S. Lewis' classic fantasy novel if only to decide whether it's as big a Christian allegory as you remember. Four siblings discover the land of Narnia, which is trapped in a never-ending winter and ruled by the evil White Witch.

While kids don't tend to pick up on the overtly Christian themes, for adults they're hard to avoid.

Buy the book here »

"The Monster at the End of This Book" by Jon Stone

Though the book was originally published long before iPhones and Androids, an app featuring the book is now available in the app store, and has additional activities for kids (or adults) to enjoy.

With colorful, fourth wall-breaking illustrations by Mike Smollin, the book also has a surprisingly powerful theme: that we shouldn't be afraid of things before we understand them, as they may not be so terrifying after all.

Buy the book here »

"The Mysteries of Harris Burdick" by Chris Van Allsburg

Though the book features very little text, the real stories are in Van Allsburg's highly detailed and beautiful illustrations, inviting readers to make up much of the context around them. Take a second look as an adult and see if the stories have changed around each different image.

Buy the book here »

"Pippi Longstocking" by Astrid Lindgren

Pippi is the original child superhero, says Bird. Living alone with her pet monkey, showing unusual strength, and showing an incredible amount of fearlessness and invincibility in the face of danger is entertaining to kids, but shows adults that if we have the confidence in ourselves to believe we can do anything, we really can do anything.

Buy the book here »

"A Series of Unfortunate Events" by Lemony Snicket

Full of dark humor and comic relief, the series follows the Baudelaire children, three brilliant orphans who are trying to find out the truth behind the death of their parents in a mysterious fire while keeping 10 steps ahead of evil master of disguise, Count Olaf.

Kid readers may empathize with the Baudelaires, who are repeatedly patronized by the adult characters; grown-up readers may see it from a completely different point of view.

Buy the books here »

"The Snowy Day" by Ezra Jack Keats

"The Snowy Day" is a wondrous escape from reality through bold, beautiful, colorful pictures and a simple yet vivid story of a boy on a snow day.

The contrast between an urban landscape and something as pure as snow serves as a great reminder to adults — especially in the winter — that despite the nuisance of bad weather, it's important to take a moment to get back to that childlike delight in the snow.

Buy the book here »

"The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales" by Jon Scieszka and Lane Smith

Scieszka and Smith spin off the classic runaway food tale of "The Gingerbread Man" with a snarky, humorous twist in "The Stinky Cheese Man." It may be the first time kids are exposed to this type of parodying sense of humor that helps them draw up memories of the old nursery rhymes and stories they know.

"Add in Lane Smith's art, which sometimes feel like it has escaped from a Monty Python film, and you've a book for the ages," notes Bird.

Buy the book here »

"The Story of Ferdinand" by Monroe Leaf

Originally published in 1936, this story of a bull who would rather stop and smell the roses than fight in the bull ring was seen as propaganda and banned by Hitler. Naturally, Gandhi loved "The Story of Ferdinand" as a celebration of pacifism.

Robert Lawson's precisely detailed black and white illustrations complete Leaf's tale, a brilliant reminder that fighting doesn't always solve the problem.

Buy the book here »

"Suzuki Beane" by Sandra Scoppotone

"Suzuki Beane" was written as a Beat generation response to the popular "Eloise" and illustrated by the author of "Harriet the Spy," says Bird. The story of a downtown girl who befriends an uptown boy, the pair just want to live in a place where their two worlds can coexist without backlash from society.

It's a story that shows the evolution of the Beat movement into the hippie movement; for that reason alone, says Bird, it's historically noteworthy.

Buy the book here »

"The Watsons Go to Birmingham — 1963″ by Christopher Paul Curtis

Curtis' novel centers around a fictional family moving from Michigan to Birmingham; while his is a work of historical fiction, it's based on the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing in Birmingham in 1963, an event seen as a huge catalyst of the civil rights movement.

After learning about the civil rights movement in more detail throughout life, adults will come back to appreciate the historical accuracy of the work as well as the deep understanding of these events through the eyes of an average family who could have seen them firsthand.

Buy the book here »

"The Westing Game" by Ellen Raskin

After the mysterious murder of an eccentric millionaire, his sixteen heirs — all of whom are picked by him to live in the Sunset Towers apartment building—- are given clues to figure out what happened to Mr. Westing.

Solving the mystery is the best part of reading this book, and if it's been a while since reading "The Westing Game," adults will be just as hooked figuring out this whodunit all over again.

Buy the book here »

"Who Needs Donuts?" by Mark Alan Stamaty

Written and illustrated in a "Where's Waldo"-like busy jumble, "Who Needs Donuts?" is about a young boy who follows his love of donuts to the Big City, where he finds something else entirely.

Though long since out of print, it's worth tracking down, says Bird, for its absurdity, and for the little details we can never quite catch during the first read.

Buy the book here »

"The Witches" by Roald Dahl

Known for his frequent use of darkness, horror, and even death in his books, Dahl believed fairytales always had to have something scary in them for children, as long as the stories also made them laugh.

"The Witches" is perhaps his creepiest work, says Bird, particularly because it doesn't end happily ever after like other tales. What adults will notice, however, is the difference in description of Dahl's witches from other witches in popular culture. Read it again and compare.

Buy the book here »

"A Wrinkle in Time" by Madeleine L'Engle

What makes L'Engle's most beloved novel so special is its unique mix of magic and science in the story about Meg, a girl whose scientist father mysteriously disappears while in the middle of some groundbreaking work. With the help of her genius little brother and schoolmate Calvin, she embarks on a quest to find out what happened, and meets some puzzling characters along the way.

Depending on the age of the reader, some of L'Engle's concepts may not make sense, but adults will find themselves catching new theories of L'Engle's — and their own — in her beautiful story.

Buy the book here »

Continue your book bucket list...... 

Or write one.
~A.

Scientific American on Nuclear Power East & West...

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/for-atom-friendly-asia-a-nuclear-power-boom-in-the-west-stagnation/?&WT.mc_id=SA_ENGYSUS_20140522

For Atom-Friendly Asia, a Nuclear Power Boom—in the West, Stagnation

More than a decade ago a contract was signed to build the world's first third-generation European pressurized reactor (EPR) in Finland. The cutting-edge, 1,600-megawatt nuclear power plant, Olkiluoto 3, which its French maker Areva boasted as the most advanced safety design of the time, is still under construction today. There have been various setbacks as well as endless finger-pointing between Areva and the Finnish utility TVO, which are locked in court battle over expanding costs. Now the reactor might not be completed until at least 2017, if at all, with a price tag of $11 billion, more than double its original estimate.

The Olkiluoto 3 situation is not unique. Another Areva EPR in Flamanville, France, is also behind schedule and over budget. A recent government deal for two new EPRs in the U.K. has also come under fire.

The prospects for a nuclear power revival are no better in the U.S. Although the technology has never been cheap, cost overruns and delays are plaguing the handful of next-generation pressurized water reactors currently being built, the first since Japan's Fukushima nuclear disaster in 2011. Even before that event, a study from Massachusetts Institute of Technology found that the cost of new nuclear plants, globally, doubled from 2002 to 2009. The third-generation reactors have safety features that should prevent a meltdown similar to Fukushima's but political controversy, along with the high price tag means that new nuclear complexes in the U.S. and Europe could be in the single digits instead of dozens originally planned less than a decade ago.

Ironically, the experience has been markedly different in Asia. Two of Areva's EPRs are expected to come online in China next year. China and South Korea are building the third-generation reactors with fewer construction delays and cost overruns than their Western counterparts. "They've been single minded about it," says Tony Roulstone, course director for nuclear energy at the University of Cambridge. "And that single-mindedness has its advantages." China and other Asian countries have been building nonstop for the last 30 years whereas the multiyear gap in the U.S. has resulted in a loss of construction knowledge. China also seems to have the advantage of endless manpower, and the state owns the country's largest nuclear firm.

The one possible turn in the otherwise rough road in the West could be a shift in technology toward small, modular reactors (SMRs), which U.S. Department of Energy (DoE) Secretary Ernest Moniz said could be deployed as soon as 2022 with his agency's support. But even SMRs face uncertainty and a long march to commercial deployment.

Bigger, but not cheaper
In the face of delays the U.S. government recently put money forward to try to jump-start the domestic nuclear power industry. The DoE issued $6.5 billion in loan guarantees for two new Westinghouse AP1000 nuclear reactors already under construction at the Vogtle Electric Generating Plant in Georgia in February. These units, pressurized water reactors, were the first new facilities to break ground in the U.S. in about 30 years.

The other two new reactors being built in the U.S., in South Carolina, are also AP1000s. The design is Westinghouse's take on a third-generation pressurized water reactor, and each one produces about 1,000 megawatts of electricity. The two Vogtle units are slated to come online in 2017 and 2018. The South Carolina units will arrive later, being constructed at South Carolina Electric and Gas's V. C. Summer Nuclear Station. The world's first AP1000 is scheduled to come online in China in 2015. "It's fair to say utilities are watching their experience," notes Pete Lyons, assistant secretary for nuclear energy at DoE.

"A big reactor is now 1.6 gigawatts [1,600 megawatts], and they've done that to get the unit cost down," Roulstone says, but the increased size had led to construction issues. In the case of the Olkiluoto 3 EPR, he notes that safety engineers designed a reactor with more pumps and valves to prevent the loss of any coolant, "but there wasn't as much effort into designing for construction," which is driving the overruns. The EPR has an 80,000-cubic-meter, double-containment structure that sits on a three-meter-thick concrete base. The system also has four separate cooling systems, each with its own water pumps, valves and control systems—all which add to the complexity in on-site construction.

Costs and delays are also rising for the AP1000 being built by Georgia Power, in part because the units must meet more stringent safety requirements that regulators have introduced in the wake of September 11, 2001, attacks and the Fukushima meltdown. The safety system itself is actually less complex, which should help reduce costs. Instead of more pumps, Westinghouse's design has 50 percent fewer safety-related valves and 80 percent less safety-related pumping. "It's an intrinsically simpler design," says Roulstone, who compared the natural circulation system to a car radiator. The reactor has a slightly smaller footprint compared with an older reactor that only produced about half the amount of electricity, says Jeff Benjamin, senior vice president, nuclear power plants at Westinghouse.

The simplified AP1000 safety system is known as a "passive" design, in that if there were a failure similar to what happened at Fukushima, human intervention would not be required to shut down a reactor. The engineering for a passively safe reactor has been in the works for decades, Benjamin says. One new feature, for example, is a 2.8-million-liter (750,000-gallon) water tank on top of the containment vessel surrounding the core that would use gravity in the case of emergency to send water flowing over the core, cooling it to prevent a meltdown.

Although the AP1000 is an intrinsically simpler design than the EPR, they both have also faced cost overruns because they are first-of-their-kind deployments. A report by Citi Research found that the Vogtle project is about six months behind schedule and will cost at least $1 billion above original projections. "We're learning how to do this as efficiently as we can," says Benjamin, who admits there has been a learning curve. Finalizing the design for construction, which has been approved by American and Chinese regulators, has taken longer than anticipated. So has securing delivery on certain components, such as reactor coolant pumps, because they are being produced for the first time. "We take these lessons as we learn them," says Benjamin, "and make sure these issues get [resolved] so we don't face them again."

Westinghouse hopes that working out the kinks in the first designs will drive down the time line and costs on other plants moving forward—but history shows that may not be possible. A study from Arnulf Grubler at Yale University in 2012 found that despite France's standardization of building nuclear from the 1970s through 2000s, the French nuclear program still saw substantial cost escalation.

A scaled-down nuclear future?
If large reactors can never achieve significant cost and construction reductions via standardization, some nuclear experts think the way forward is downsized, prefabricated reactors. A number of countries—such as Korea, Russia and the U.S.—are developing SMRs. The smaller reactors are generally less than 300 megawatts in electricity output.

Unlike large reactors, SMRs would be essentially prefabricated in factories instead of on-site. Some of the designs, such as NuScale Power's, which received DoE funding, don't require cooling pumps at all. Instead, they are cooled with convection—a natural flow of air. DoE is investing $452 million in SMR support and thinks the units can be built cheaper, faster and with superior safety measures. "The department is very, very focused on the potential for SMRs to make a difference in our energy future," Lyons says. Because the reactors produce less energy, they are well suited to isolated applications such as powering a small city or for some large industrial usage. Yet some industry advocates think they can supply traditional utility power needs as well.

Researchers at the University of Chicago found that SMRs have the potential of lower upfront costs, along with construction risk, which would lessen the average cost of capital and therefore make the units more cost-competitive with natural gas power plants. A study from Carnegie Mellon University, however, found the jury is still out on whether SMRs will be more cost-effective than gigawatt-sized reactors.

China is also out front in terms of deploying SMRs. One of the most advanced units is joint-venture Chinergy, Co.'s 210 megawatt HTR-PM, a high-temperature, gas-cooled reactor that is currently under construction and is expected to begin operation in 2017.

There is still uncertainty in the marketplace about how regulatory decisions will play out for SMRs, which has led to a bit of a chicken-and-egg problem in bringing them to market. Earlier this year Westinghouse scaled back work on its 225-megawatt SMR as it awaits design certification clarity from regulators. One sticking point is safety and security requirements that would be added if the units are built underground, as the DoE envisions. "It's fair to think of these small reactors as grid-appropriate for many parts of the world," Benjamin says. But there are many details to work out, and experts think it will be at least a decade before this technology is ready for prime time.

~A.

2013 Best of Year Washer and Dryer Awards - Reviewed.com Laundry

http://laundry.reviewed.com/features/2013-best-of-year-washer-and-dryer-awards

But i like the comments.... There are a whole lot of people just bursting out of their boredom here.
~A.

Cord Cutters Are Bandwidth Hogs

http://www.businessinsider.com/cord-cutters-are-bandwidth-hogs-2014-5?nr_email_referer=1&utm_source=Triggermail&utm_medium=email&utm_term=Tech%20Chart%20Of%20The%20Day&utm_campaign=SAI_COTD_052014

People Who Dump Pay TV End Up Using 7X More Bandwidth Than Average

People who are "cord cutters" are bandwidth hogs according to new data from Sandvine, via Re/Code. People who are looking at dumping paying for TV end up watching video through the internet which takes up a lot of bandwidth. 

This is part of the conundrum for anyone hoping to disrupt the TV industry by creating a web-based video product. For the most part, the companies that own the pay-TV business also own the internet delivery business. If you stop paying for TV, they'll just raise their rates on the internet. 

Chart by Statista.

Statista/Business Insider

Until the playing field is level.... Did you say phones?
~A.