What would I bring on a desert island?

If I had the choice to bring one music cd, one book and one famous person along with me on a desert island, the choices I would make are the following:


First of all, for a book, I would obviously choose a french dictionnary.  I think it is the easiest choice to make, since the dictionnary is something incredibly long to read and you never know for how long you will be stucked on that desert island.  Furthermore, it would keep me intelligent (if I am) and accustomed to the language. I guess I would even improve my general knowledge of French.

My choice for a music cd was not easy to make, but I finally got to the conclusion that I should bring a classical type of music.  I thought about a lot of famous music geniuses and I finally choosed Beethoven and his nine symphonies.  I think that classical music is really enjoyable and that it would keep me calm and rational while I am on a desert Island.

Finally, I thought about someone famous that would be useful for me in such a case.  Obviously, I thought about bringing gorgeous women on the island like Jessica Alba but I thought it would be more useful to bring someone I would be able to talk to who would help me to keep my mind open.  So I decided to take Noam Chomsky, who is one of the greatest thinker of our era.  Perhaps there is a lady as beautiful as Jessica Alba that would be able to play the same role as Chomsky?

Q blog: the telephone

This has been a very interesting discussion to listen to.  In the first place, I don't have a cellular so it probably gives me a different vision from other people, since the majority of them have one. I already had one but I couldn't use text messages and it was because I was working for a company with which I was travelling in car all around Quebec and New-Brunswick so people had to be able to talk to me from far away.  Of course, I could and I did use it for personnal purposes and I enjoyed it, but I'm not sure I would be ready to say that it's become impolite to call someone at home directly.


First of all, everybody doesn't know your phone number and you usually don't give it away for no reason.  People can obviously find it in a phone book, but then, they likely have a good reason to talk to you.  Also, I think it's almost the same thing as going to people's houses, yet it is more convenient since you don't have to do all the way to get there, you just have to pick up your phone.  I'm making that comparison because sometimes you will clearly disturb people by calling them although you must be aware of some basic principles when you own a phone.


The first one may be that you must not call at ridiculous hours (during the night for instance or during meal times).  This might get annoying for people receiving the call and they surely won't appreciate the discussion.  Furthermore, if it looks like the person does not participate much in the conversation, just don't push it too far, he probably doesn't want to talk to you at that moment.

As I said earlier, I don't think that calling people is rude or impolite if you do it properly.  Besides, receiving a text message is supposed to bother you as much as a phone call if they are written for the same reason.  If you prefer  to receive the same information in a message instead of a phone call, it's because you are becoming a hermit and that you begin to get cut off from social relationships.  If it makes it just more convenient when you're away from home, that's okay.  If you only have a cellular or if it is about money, of course it is understandable, but don't tell me you will text someone to warn him that you will call him if it's someone you're supposed to know well.

This is probably my favorite statement!  Obviously, the general message transported by it is that when you can do things by yourself, you are able to take advantage of it and be happy in life.  The case of the fish is a good example, since it shows that the man will be able to feed himself forever (well...  As long as there are some fish where he fishes).  Actually, it means that it is not always good to have everything already prepared for us.  We have to manage, everybody has to!  What if someone was only eating frozen dinners?  Of course he would survive, but he would never be able to eat healthy food since he wouldn't know how to cook.  The bottom of the statement says that it is important to learn because then, you will be able to take care of yourself and even teach it to somebody else so he can do the same.

This principle could be used for international development.  Also, it's not that I am not concerned about international development but I'm not informed well enough to state concrete examples where this idea has been used so I'm only going to say how I think it could be used for.  I don't know if there is a specific area where this principle would be more useful  but I believe it is everywhere.  Instead of acting with the idea of ''ready-made'' (and what I mean here is that we bring supplies, materials and equipment), we should rather bring knowledge and teach these guys how to take care of themselves.

I know a lot of people in poor countries suffer a lot from starvation and lack of water.  They don't have enough money to take care of their child and they're having hard times with diseases like AIDS and others that I just don't know.  I also know that the major part of them have something like 10 kids?  We have to teach them how to get out of that $*&% and bring them to a state where they are aware of what is going on in their country.

Honestly, I really hope that everbody on Earth could live happily, but when I hear that some people don't want to eat cows because they are sacred, I just don't stand it.  Maybe that what I'm saying is too crude, but I just can't help it, I feel like they owe to die of starvation if they can't get over stupid beliefs like that.  I know it's a terrible way of thinking, maybe it comes from the fact that I don't believe in God at all.  Also, it is not because I don't respect other cultures, but dying instead of eating a cow is something I just can't understand.

Furthermore, to come back with the main idea of this text, I think that the most important part is that we have to teach them! Teach, teach, teach!  We have to give them the opportunity to be able do build wells, to train qualified teachers and doctors.  There are so many intelligent people on Earth, we have to be able to solve these problems, but in order to do that, people have to work together, putting away their differences and their beliefs (even I and what I said earlier).  We must find a way to make them able to use the ressources they have the best way we can.  We have to forget money and abolish dictatorships but yet again, racism and disrepect between cultures get in the way, making us vulnerable because nobody has the power and the will to do it. 

How has language got me into trouble or got me out of it?

The only way that language can get you into trouble is when you insult someone or when you don't use the language properly.  For example, if you don't speak a certain language pretty well, you might say something that doesn't mean what you thought it meant.  Then, it means that to master different languages can only help you since it helps you to communicate properly with a lot of people.  I don't think that language can get you into trouble except if you don't speak a certain language or that you don't use the words you know the way they should.

A personnal example would be that I've been working in a bus station in Rivière-du-Loup and even if we don't see a lot of English people in that town, it is inevitable that you will have to speak in English when you do a job like that.  In fact, because I was good in English, I was hired more easyly.   It also helped me to communicate with the clients better than the other employees. 

 Furthermore, it allows me to watch certain movies or programs on television that I can't find in french or that are badly translated from English to French.  Most of the poker programs, for example, are in English and are presented on more chains than in French.  

The basics of Texas Hold'em

In this post, I'm going to show the basics of the most played variant of Poker, the Texas Hold'em.  I'm willing  to present the winning hands and the rules of that game.

I don't want to be accused of plagiarism so I have to say that WHAT FOLLOWS IS COMPLETELY COPIED AND PASTED.  The rules are the rules, there are not a lot of things I would write myself that would be different from what I took on the Internet.  My information comes from this site: 
 
http://boardgames.about.com/cs/poker/a/texas_rules.htm

Don't worry, 661 words are still from my own in this post (Jennifer, it will be a real pain for you since it's quite long :P).  For those who didn't know (and if anyone in the world have read any of my articles, this blog was originally made for an english class, but don't worry, I'm really interested in poker).

By now, the only things that will written from my own are the sentences between these : [   ]

[Now for the rules:]

The dealer shuffles a standard 52-card deck.
(In casinos, the dealer never plays. A round disc -- known as a "dealer button" -- moves clockwise from player to player with each hand. The button marks which player would be the dealer if the deal were advanced from player to player as the game went along.)
Most Texas Hold 'Em Poker games start with the two players to the left of the dealer (the button) putting a predetermined amount of money into the pot before any cards are dealt, ensuring that there's something to play for on every hand. This is called "posting the blinds." Most often, the "first blind" -- the player to the left of the dealer -- puts up half the minimum bet, and the "second blind" puts up the full minimum bet.

[If you play a regular cash game in a casino, the blinds may be, for example, 1$-2$.  This means that on the table, you have the dealer button, then the next person is the small blind for 1$, and the next person to the small blind is the big blind for 2$.  The first person to play is the person to the left of the big blind.]

Each player is dealt two cards, face down. These are known as the "hole cards."
 
Betting Begins

A round of betting takes place, beginning with the player to the left of the two who posted the blinds. Players can call, raise, or fold when it's their turn to bet.

[There are different actions you can do when it is your turn to play that are listed above.  The most easy one is to fold.  This means you throw you card to the middle (or to the dealer if you are in a casino) and that you won't play that hand.  It means it didn't cost you anything to see these cards and that you can wait another turn before you play.

Another action you can do is to call which means you want to put the necessary amount of money to see the next cards that will come.  The amount is equal to the big blind, so in this case, it would be 2$.

You can also raise, which means you want to make the necessary amount of money to see the cards to be higher.  For example, the blinds here are 1-2$ and if you raise you must at least put twice the minimum bet.  It means you have to raise to at least 4$.  Then when it is the turn of another player, if he wants to call, he will have to put 4$ instead of 2$ to see the next cards.  When everyone at the table have put the same amount of money in, you can see the flop.] 
 
The Flop
After the first betting round, the dealer discards the top card of the deck. This is called burning the card and is done to ensure that no one accidentally saw the top card, and to help prevent cheating.
The dealer then flips the next three cards face up on the table. These cards are called the "flop."
NOTE: Eventually, a total of five community cards will be placed face up on the table. Players can use any combination of the community cards and their own two hole cards to form the best possible five-card Poker hand.
After the flop, another round of betting takes place, beginning with the player to the left of the dealer (the button). During this and all future rounds of betting, players can check, call, raise, or fold when it's their turn to bet.

[Checking means that you don't put in more money, but that you want to see the next cards.  When you check, it is your opponent's turn.  If everyone checks, you can see the next card (the turn or the fourth street).  You can also bet some money and then your opponent(s) would have to call to see the next card.  That move means you have a good hand and you want it paid off or that you want to see your opponent(s) fold so you can win the money that's already in the pot.  If someone bets, the other player can raise it up so  that the price to see the next card is higher.  He can also just call to see the turn or he can fold and let you win the pot.]
 

Fourth Street
The dealer burns another card and plays one more face up onto the table. This, the fourth community card, is called the "turn" or "Fourth Street."
The player to the left of the dealer (the button) begins the third round of betting.

[It is the same pattern as the flop.  The players have the right to do an action, beginning by the person next to the dealer.]

Fifth Street

The dealer burns another card before placing the final face-up card on the table. This card is called the "river" or "Fifth Street."

Final Betting and The Winner

Players can now use any combination of seven cards -- the five community cards and the two hole cards known only to them -- to form the best possible five-card Poker hand.
The fourth and final round of betting starts with the player to the left of the dealer (the button).
After the final betting round, all players who remain in the game reveal their hands. The player who made the initial bet or the player who made the last raise shows their hand first. [Then the player with the best hand wins the pot.  If two or more players have the same hand, the pot is then splitted among them.

That's about it for the rules, now let's see the ranking of the hands.  I found another poker sites where you can see the rank of the hands.  It comes from this site :  http://www.texasholdem-poker.com/handrank ]

Rank of Hands in Texas Holdem

In texas hold em poker, players compare five card hands against each other to determine who wins. A player with a flush has a better hand than a player with a straight, for example. The following list is from best to worst, so any hand on the list beats any hand below it and loses to any hand above it.
 
Royal Flush - An Ace-High straight of one suit.



Straight Flush - A straight of entirely one suit.



Four-of-a-Kind (Quads) - Four cards of the same rank.



Full House (Full Boat, Boat) - Three-of-a-kind and a pair. The example below would be called "Queens over Aces" or "Queens full of Aces".



Flush - Five cards of the same suit.



Straight (Run) - Five cards of sequential rank. Note that in holdem, Aces can be high or low.



An example of a straight where the Ace is low:



Three-of-a-Kind (Trips, Set, Triplets) - Three cards of the same rank.



Two Pair - Two cards of the same rank and another two cards of the same rank. The example below would be called "Jacks and Twos".



One Pair - Two cards of the same rank.



High Card - When you don't have any of the above, your highest card determines your hand. The example below would be "King High" or "High card King".



[I thought that the examples were easy to understand and that the images were helpful, that's why I chose this site.  When you play texas hold'em, you have 5 community cards (that every players can use) and 2 hole cards (the face down cards you possess) and you can use any of them to form the best hand you can.]