Scarcity

I'm leaving today for a little trip with the family, so I won't be around on the blog as much as normal for a couple of days. I'll be checking in as often as possible, but I'm not sure how much internet access there is in Paris. (Not that I'm going to Paris, but it still holds: I don't know anything about internet access in Paris.) I've turned off the comments moderation for the time being, so please be polite, erudite, brilliant, and otherwise above board.

Comments

[Stephen Sparrow]

Have a good break Carl, I'm sure you and your family deserve it. I can vouch for internet availability in Paris France - it is both plentiful and expensive.

[Ed Peters]

Carl. Slacker. ;)

[Ed Peters]

Well, it's been 24 hours since Carl ducked out. I see he is milking this "relaxation time" thing for all it's worth. Slacker slacker. ps: I hope you're happy, the market has dropped another 400 points since you abandoned your post.

[Carl Olson]

Hey, I heard those comments, Ed. I'd reply at length, but my martini and eggs is on the bar. Gotta run! But don't fear: I'm watching.

[Ed Peters]

Yikes! I thought he was gone.... Is there an emoticon for egg-on-face?

[Skyhawk]

"Paris France - it is both plentiful and expensive."

Hum... Not totally true. You can get 28Mbs download speeds/100 HD channels IP tv/VoIP phone for 30 €, which would be around $38... Try to beat that with the packages and pricing we get around here in TX... It's definitely a competitive price...

[Stephen Sparrow]

Hi Skyhawk I am talking of four years ago. Near Notre Dame [you would think that influence would count for something] there were a few cybercafes that back then charged the equivalent of $US2.00 for 15 minutes. I thought that was steep. By contrast in Lourdes the young guy in charge didn't charge anything for the ten minutes I used his gear - but then Our Lady has a lot of say in that town. You sound as if you're using fancy mobile gear and of course the folk who used to control most of the coverage now have a lot more competition.

Oh and by the way Carl take no notice of that guy Peters - he's just green with envy.

[Jackson]

"...abandoned your post." hehehe....

By the way, people, if you had to choose between learning French and German, which would it be and why?

[Mel]

Carl,

Hope you had a great time in Paris, IDAHO! How glamorous! See any coyotes?

[Nick Milne]

Jackson:

I would choose French for a number of reasons. Its solid romance status means that there's much in it that will prove intuitive and simple for those who have already made a study of Latin (as I have, in however limited a capacity), and the fact that it's one of my country's two official languages means that the learning of it would be endlessly practical. It is also the case that, apart from several recent and heroic exceptions, it seems that one would be far more likely to find solid Catholic works in French than in German.

It would also be difficult to triumph over the difficulties outlined here, so French is the clear winner.

[Ed Peters]

Jackson. It depends. What uses, if any specific, are you considering, and what languages do you have?

[Carl Olson]

Mel: Just lots of antelope and deer. No buffalo. Or coyotes.

[Jackson]

Thanks Nick. Ed, I want to read certain authors in the original, e.g., de Lubac or Ratzinger. Thus I'm torn. I know some Spanish and Italian.

[Ed Peters]

I take it Carl is back from his Lost Weekend. Well, let nothing more be said about it.

Jackson, of course, your goals pretty much dictate which to choose here. You already know that French would be easier given your background in F and I. At the same time, if you are looking for the nuance that the original language offers, I think German is more helpful, for the Eng. translations I've seen of DeL's French seem to convey his thought fine. I am less confident about the Germans (though that could be my marked weakness in German working.)