What this is?

Is that why they call it the Brocken transmitter?

It's getting very popular, especially on CR4.

It's something someone built for a purpose.

Where is it? Can we go take a look?

Correction

DC_2007_26_62B2F5F1-D8AC-29E1-6B351491E3454780... Rev C.

What do you consider cold in South Carolina?

Good job, dk.....good job.

^{I've only lived here for 6!!! but thanks for disculpering me anyway!!}

I don't know if I should be upset (being a Montreal French speaking person) or thankful for the kind words....soooo confused

I found the people there most enjoyable and I also took long walks on the weekends I spent there. No offense meant in any way. The piece of iron in the question sooo reminded me of that great park and the pleasant time I had wandering the trails. Also the natives were walking all over the place and getting off their behinds. That alone is quite noteworthy and made it more enjoyable. This was a compliment I think? I Dun Know?

"This was a compliment I think? I Dun Know? "

Don't worry, I took it as such...

I'm off for the weekend...Have yourself a great one! (and yes, I know today is Thursday but I'm taking a vacation day tomorrow making a 4 day weekend - Monday being Thanksgiving holiday Canada)

later,

The French speaking part aside the place is wonderful to visit.

Hey, dbd, sounds like you are back-pedaling! I read the line above and it sound to me like you meant you did NOT care for the "French speaking part". Now whether you meant the fact that everyone spoke French or by "part" you meant the geographic area where French is spoken, is not for me to say!

Either way, clearly, there was something about your visit that was less than wonderful.

Don't you know that everyone must speak French! Only dull, illiterate bores like myself do not speak French!

I once worked with an Office Manager who was also our German translator. On a trip to a Machine Show in Paris he got lost and sought help from a Parisian Gendarme (Policeman). He approached the cop and tried to ask for help in four of the languages he had at least some fluency in, English, German, Spanish, and Italian, each time asking if the officer knew any of the language. The Gendarme basically ignored him each time, until he turned to walk away, at which time the guy spoke in the few words of French that my friend understood, "I speak FRENCH, and so should YOU!"

Something about Gallic pride.......

I understand that the English-speaking provinces of Canada (the majority) are, by law, bi-lingual, however French-speaking Quebec is, by law, mono-lingual. Does that make sense?

I am not a language expert in any way. I purchased a book on "French speaking for dummies" and was swimming in it. My daughter who has no such problem bought for me "French speaking for complete Idiots" Even that was a challenge. So now as then French-less as ever. The only part of real difficulty was in meetings where the meaning of the requests probably lost much of their exact measure as the request was translated to English for me. I subsequently had difficulty pinning down the customers design as it was their minds. Had a great trip, good people, good food, good wine, good beer. Just wished the family could have been there with me.

The only part of real difficulty was in meetings where the meaning of the requests probably lost much of their exact measure as the request was translated to English for me. I subsequently had difficulty pinning down the customers design as it was their minds. Had a great trip, good people, good food, good wine, good beer.

Wow, does that bring back memories of my trips to Germany, especially your last sentence, only instead of the hosts being the customer, they were the machine builder, and I was the guy in the middle between the customer and the builder, with very little German ability. The customer or myself would ask a question in English, it would be translated by a German engineer, the other German engineers would talk frenetically, amongst themselves for 5 minutes, then the translator would deliver a 20 second answer!

Since it was the Rhine River valley of SW Germany the "good wine, good beer" part rings especially true!

"I understand that the English-speaking provinces of Canada (the majority) are, by law, bi-lingual, however French-speaking Quebec is, by law, mono-lingual. Does that make sense?"

Hi STL,

Actually, this is not quite right. Canada is bilingual (English/French) in all provinces but Quebec which is French/English (see the difference?). The law states that you can/must have bilingual signs in Quebec but that the French part must be present and predominant. In the larger cities, you will have no problems at all being served in both languages. Going to the rural areas (especially on the east side of the province) might prove to be a little more difficult in getting served in English. But most (99%)people will not "ignore" you on purpose because you don't speak the language.

Thank you for the correction on Quebec. I must have been mis-informed. I have found it true that people in small towns and rural areas are usually friendlier than city dwellers, both abroad and here at home in the USA. Thus, I was very surprised when a few years ago I got a very cold reception in a small French town just south of Strasbourg, France.

I was driving a company car from our German manufacturing plant just across the Rhine River, leading a rental car with some of our customers driving through the wine country on the French side of the river, and trying to find a particular museum that was a restored Maginot Line fort from World War II. The road lead through the town square and I must have missed my turn. After a couple times around the square I decided to ask for directions. Stopping in front of a streetside Cafe with 7-8 Frenchmen enjoying a morning break, and not knowing any French myself, but figuring that in this border area many people were bound to speak German, I asked for directions to the Museum in German. No one answered or even looked up to acknowledge me and say they did not know! I asked again, louder this time, thinking they just did not hear me, but got the same non-reaction. Frustrated, I mumbled something out loud in English about "French hospitality", and they all looked up, very surprised! Several started to get up, but one spry old gentleman leaped to his feet and came over quickly. "Oh! You are American!", he said, implying "that's very different". He was then, oh-so-nice, gave me excellent directions, and wished us a nice stay in France, concluding with "Au revoir" ("Until we meet again").

It seems that they clearly HAD understood what I was asking. They had thought I was German, since I was speaking German and driving a car with the name and address of a German company on the side. This was 50 years since the end of WWII and these guys still hated the Germans, even those who had clearly not even been alive at the time!

STL,

Do not confuse the French from France with the French-speaking Canadians. It's not even the same language!

My sister (French Quebecer) went for a trip to France last spring and even she got looked at as an alien. She made the "mistake" of saying "Allo" (Hi) instead of "Bonjour" (Good morning) when asking someone for directions and got an earful from the woman behind the counter. I've heard a lot of stories from friends travelling over there and most came back with the distinct impression of gross intolerance on the part of the French (and often, even between themselves!).

That said, I've had a few friends from France (immigrated over here - one family being neighbors) that were/are very pleasant so who knows. I guess we can't generalize too much as there are good and bad people everywhere. Enough ranting....

Aha! So, to paraphrase Mark Twain, Oscar Wilde, G. B. Shaw, Bertrand Russell, or even Winston Churchill, who have said similar things, it appears that the French and French-Canadians are also "two peoples separated by a common language"!

Most definitely !!! Without a doubt! (and so on and so on...)

The same way English speaking people are not all considered Brits or Americans (or Aussies or even Canadians for that matter). No different for us "French" people...

_{I "needed" to make that clear somehow}

Are you familiar with the French languages spoken in the US State of Louisiana? Collectively, they are referred to as Louisiana French, including "Cajun" (Acadian), Colonial, and Plantation Society (19th century) French, but even "Cajun
" has two distinct dialects.

Here in Missouri, just south of St. Louis a version of Colonial French persisted well into the mid-20th century in some rural areas, but has just about died out as a living language. Eastern Missouri was settled originally by French from New Orleans before the Acadian expulsion by the British which created the "Cajun" communities in Louisiana. One of the oldest continuous settlements west of the Mississippi is Sainte Genevieve, MO which dates from about 1722, shortly after the founding of New Orleans in 1718 as the French discovered rich mineral deposits, principally lead ore, in the area. Besides Ste. Genevieve, several community names in the area reflect this French heritage including New Bourbon, French Village, and Bonne Terre. Saint Louis itself was founded by French fur traders Pierre Laclede and August Chouteau, but quickly lost its French accent with the influx of English-speaking Americans both before and after the Louisiana Purchase of 1803, as well as later German immigrants (1840's) and others during the large European migrations of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Boy....you just brought me back to my history class of a few decades ago...I do remember most of that but the info was "stored" somewhere in a dark(er) corner of my mind. I visited New Orleans a few years back (before the floods) and I must say, it felt like entering a whole new country...(ok, ok, I was there for "Mardi Gras" and that in itself is something else...). I plan to go back someday and see how everything changed but first, I wanna take a trip to Saint Lucia islands. I hear great things about the place....

regards,

Rick.

but first, I wanna take a trip to Saint Lucia islands. I hear great things about the place....

How about St. Martin / Sint Maarten? You can use your French on the Northern Side and try your hand at Dutch on the Southern side! Actually, both sides usually handle English fairly well, so don't despair if you have no Dutch fluency.

I actually enjoyed the beaches (topless was de rigueur) on the French side and shopping on the Dutch side.

Oriente beach, Bay Rouge and sometimes even Pinnel Island have some great eye candy.

"I actually enjoyed the beaches (topless was de rigueur) on the French side and shopping on the Dutch side."

Ok ok....you've convinced me ! My wife's cousin has a second home on the island (view on the beach) and she sometimes rents it out for vacationers. She's willing to let us have it for free (along with the maids/servants) making the airplane tickets just about the only expense. I can't wait.....

Thanks for the tips (Northside vs Southside)

Lucky you! I have only been there for the day on cruises. I would love to go there for a week and operate my ham radio from the beach!

We should be going there in January or February...I'll let you know how it went (and maybe even post a few pics? )

Hi Guys, I hail from Des Moines IA a typical French named town if there ever was one. I do not recall anyone actually speaking conversational French.

We were informed quite a lot during our education about our heritage though.

I've learned quite a bit of the North American history (and loved it) way back in school. I wish I could have learned more about the World history but ran out of time (so to speak). By the time I joined the work force, started partying, raised a family, etc = not much time for leisure reading....and now I got interested in wood working as side projects so......maybe when I can find some spare time, I'll crack a few books open and continue my knowledge acquiring...

Watch "The History Channel" if you get it on cable or satellite. Much more entertaining and easier to digest than musty old history books. Also, usually more up-to-date with the latest research often disproving older "facts". National Geographic Channel and The Discovery Channel often have historically oriented shows as well.

"History Detectives" on PBS is also one show I really like, which often takes questions and artifacts of unknown or anecdotal origin sent in by viewers (who then become part of the show) and tracks down the best possible answers by seeking clues from references and talking with historians and others who specialize in areas related to the search. I know PBS is a US Government funded network, so you may not get it in Canada, but some PBS shows may be available on CBC.

Thanks STL,

I got to "fight" for tv rights with the wife & kids (2 late-teens) so except for sports , I get very little watch time. (I also spend a lot of time in the garage making a CNC router for the wood hobby - now THAT's fun...:)

I'll give the History channel a looksy...

I have the same problem with wife and kids. My best times for viewing are usually late at night or on the weekend, especially if the wife is out of the house and the kids are playing in another room.

It seems that no matter what, when "the Queen" returns, anything that is not a sit-com, non-violent drama, kids show, or sport that "she who must be obeyed" actually likes (e.g. baseball, not football) must be immediately switch off in favor of anything else, preferably whatever is on the Disney Channel or Nickelodeon. Documentaries of any type are considered "boring". What I find "boring" is watching the same sit-com or kids show (especially kids sit-coms!) that we have already seen at least 10 times. Classic movies are also scorned as "old crap". And nothing "scary" is allowed, so that rules out most of my favorite Sci-Fi shows (Stargate: SG-1 and Stargate: Atlantis, Battlestar Galactica, Painkiller Jane, and of course, Dr. Who)

They consider Stargate scarry?!? Oh boy...

Really...I think we all have different names and different places of residence but still, we all live the same life !

I guess I could always get another TV (along with a bar fridge, of course) and set it all up in the garage....but then they'd (wife and kids) never see me again!!!

You may want to have a new doghouse built, for yourself!

I am considering it, myself!

We should patent this "perfect" doghouse. I'll even volunteer to do the prototypes (if we have the funds for the raw material needed, of course: Flat screen, recliner, stocked fridge, etc)

I am reminded of the Snoopy's doghouse in "Peanuts". It appeared to have dimensions of only about 4'L x 3.5'H x 3'W on the outside, yet on the inside there was room for a pool table and other large recreational and comfort items!

So, our doghouse must either be built mostly underground, or built using a tesseract as the basis of design!

Robert Heinlein wrote a great story called "-And He Built a Crooked House-" , where a mathematically-inclined architect designs a house based on a 3-D analog of a 4-D tesseract, giving it multiple rooms above a first floor with only a single room. However, an earthquake causes the unstable structure to fold into itself, appearing on the outside to be only a single room house. But inside.......

AH! Remember the Flintstones? Fred could run full speed in one direction for a full minute and still not reach the end of his 20'x20' (if that) rock house....the dude must have had like 20 TVs, recliners and side lamps as we kept seeing them fly-by in the back ground...

AH! Remember the Flintstones?

...but, we digress.

What is it? -- Where is it? -- French Canada -- French Language -- French in North America -- History -- TV Viewing -- "Doghouse" -- Inside/Outside dimensions -- Flintstones?!

Man, what a wild ride! Talk about 'off-topic'!

But we did have fun, no?

Alright. Let's end this one here and we'll catch up on another thread...and I won't forget about the pics from the trip to the islands...

later STL,

Rick.