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欧州自転車レース追っかけ日記

欧州在住者が自転車レースを追い掛けてる日記とか

It is snowing and since ...., let it snow!

It has been snowy since I don't know how long. It is nasty wet snow as the temperature stays between 3 degrees Celsius and minus 1. At least it is not icy.

I want dry powdery snow instead of this but it does not really matter if it is wet snow or dry snow.


Some bike race watch plans for this year, 2015. My favorite site www.velowire.com has some details of the Paris-Nice 2015.

73rd edition of Paris-Nice 2015
Paris-Nice 2015:

Sunday, March 8, 2015
The first day is a prologue held in a small commune called 'Maurepas (http://www.maupres.fr/)' in Yvelines, located west of Paris.

It is a short prologue of 6.7 km. You can download a PDF format map from the site cited above.

Monday, March 9, 2015
Stage 1: Saint-Rémy-lès-Chevreuse --- Contres

Velowire cites that Contres received the finish city card because it is a town that St. Michel (a famous madeleine confectionary is based there). You know that the Publicity Caravan distributes a lot of so-called petits cadeaux (small gifts, freebies) to the audience awaiting the arrival of the race. St. Michel is one of them. They distribute a small package of madeleines which contains 4 (?) pieces of small madeleines. I think I have eaten more than 100 pieces of them in the past 3 to 4 years. I love madeleines.

I am definitely driving to Maurepas and enjoy the prologue.

It may be possible for me to go see the first stage (not in Contres). I am crossing my fingers.


In Japanese: 続きをどうぞ [It is snowing and since ...., let it snow!]の続きを読む

テーマ:自転車ロードレース - ジャンル:スポーツ

  1. 2015/01/31(土) 02:34:17|
  2. Bike Races
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English (films or TV programs) on TV for viewers to learn English

There was a very very interesting article on wort.lu and I thought I had to write about it here.

Tajikistan, one of the most impoverished countries on the Asian / European continent, decided to air English films or other programs on TV without voiceover or subtitles.

The movie, A Few Good Men, was mentioned as one of their choices. Why is this article particularly interesting to me?

Because I had said to friends, acquaintances and others that 'A Few Good Men' was one of the best English learning materials available reasonably inexpensively in the past multiple times.

It is true. I had said it on many occasions. Why? Why is it so?

It is based on my own experience back in 90' in the US, where I spent more than three years in the suburbs of Los Angeles, California.

I attended a private English school to get the F-1 visa to legally stay in the country. I learned English a lot there but I can honestly say that watching TV was also a great boost to my English skills.

I watched a lot of TV and also went to see movies. I watched almost every kind of TV programs.

In the hindsight, one of the most effective ways to learn English was to watch movies or dramas like 'A Few Good Men'. Why? Am I a big fan of Tom Cruise? Well, the answer is 'No.' I like him in many of his movie appearances but he is not one of my idols.

Then why?

"Dialogues and subsequent actions" are key to learning live English so naturally I recommend people who want to learn English to watch TV dramas or movies. But which or what kind of them will be most effective?

Most importantly, the English conversation they are listening to has to be "correct" (as opposed to broken) in terms of intonations and grammar.

It (spoken English as a learning material) has to be clearly and relatively slowly spoken for beginners.

In these criteria, war movies, action movies, crime stories, horrors or most of Sci-Fi movies won't qualify.

Love stories, comedies or documentaries will be entertaining but not really for beginners.

Then this particular kind of stories shine as the best material for beginners; court dramas!

As you may have already guessed, in court scenes, there won't be almost no swear words (because if someone uses a harsh language in court, he/she will be forcibly removed by the order from the presiding judge for sure), they (mainly lawyers) speak in correct grammar to the jury, they speak relatively slow for the jury, they speak in plain English and so on.

There were even one of these expressions very popular in the 90's court dramas, "Can you explain in layman's terms?" "Please explain it as I were a 5th grade student." The words spoken by the testifying experts (like doctors or so) had to reach out to the jury (mixture of people from various social classes).

So when I saw this article, I felt I was finally vindicated. That was what I wanted to write here. Thanks!


In Japanese: 続きをどうぞ [English (films or TV programs) on TV for viewers to learn English]の続きを読む

テーマ:ヨーロッパ - ジャンル:海外情報

  1. 2015/01/28(水) 16:38:35|
  2. Things European
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MacBook A1342 II, Greece economy and the Spring Classics

I am writing this on my MacBook Late 2009 II (two or second). I repaired the keyboard on it (completely replaced the keyboard) and it is functioning (although the left 'shift' key seems to be a tad irresponsible sometimes).

I am now using Mac OS X 10.10.1 on it for the moment. Apple has officially released 10.10.2 update. It will run on it soon. My initial intention was to run a distribution of Linux on it. The particular distribution that I chose was not so perfect on MacBooks. As you may know, Macs have long adopted Intel chips (abandoned IBM/Motorola/Apple PowerPC platforms), they are not really like PCs (meaning Personal Computers running typically Microsoft Windows).

I will try to install this Linux distribution later when its distribution gets a major update. By this time I will remove the SSD (in the main drive bay) that has OS X on it and replace it with an identical SSD (Intel 40 GB) to install a Linux distribution on it. The extracted SSD will be placed in a USB external case.

In a totally unrelated story, Greek people decided to choose a ultra-left party to head the government. It may or may not mean that they want to reject the severe austerity policy imposed by other EU members. One wrong move will trigger a hostile sanction by those countries like Germany and others. If Germany refuse to agree to give more financial aid to Greece, Greece will default their debt.

Euro will fall and Greece will be expelled from the EU? I am no economist so I can not really comment on this stuff.

I don't care much about Greece personally but I care about the value of Euro. Euro has already sunk when the general election results in Greece were in.

I am living in a EU country. My salary is paid in Euro, of course. It does not change too much if I stay within the EU zone (where Euro is being used) even if the relative value (to US dollar, British pound or Japanese Yen) of Euro falls.

Nobody is living on a isolated island these day. We import and export things and services across the world. When Euro falls to US dollar, I have to pay more for things that came from the US.

Recently Luxembourg's bonds were rated AAA by rating companies. When Euro falls and the rating goes down, I may lose my job. I am not too sure about my future anymore.

I now care more about the exchange rate of Japanese Yen and Euro. Why?

First, I am buying some products from Japan soon.

Second, some of my friends are visiting me (visiting Europe and I will help them move within Belgium, France and the Netherlands).

The exchange rate is my concern now but not too much. I am buying things but majority of them is not for me. I am just helping my colleagues buy Japanese things. I don't think I am spending too much myself.

[MacBook A1342 II, Greece economy and the Spring Classics]の続きを読む

テーマ:Mac - ジャンル:コンピュータ

  1. 2015/01/27(火) 23:02:32|
  2. Bike Races
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MacBook A1342 Keyboard Repair Completed

If you are looking for the information concerning repairing (replacing) the keyboard on MacBook A1342, you are welcome. I did not write a technical or friendly guide to swap the keyboards. I just write here that you can also do it.

Synopsis: You can replace the keyboard on your MacBook A1342 (if you have to).

The most complicated part of the repair will be, in my humble opinion, gluing back the keyboard on the back side of the upper case. The second most difficult part of the repair will be removing the sub-frame (I don't know the official name for that) from the upper case since they are glued together.

Before you begin:
1) Visit this site (www.ifinixit.com) to get the idea how to disassemble MacBook A1342

and

get to know the tools you will need to do that. In addition to smallish +/- drivers, torx screw drivers and a Y-shape screw driver will be needed. This Y-shape driver is required to remove the battery.

They don't have a guide how to replace the keyboard so you refer to the guide how to fully disassemble it.

2) You will need the parts (search on ebay for them). Refurbished keyboards are available.

3) You will need a glue (plastic to plastic) to glue the sub-frame back. I have no specific recommendation.

4) You will need acrylic power and its solution (commonly used by nail saloon workers). You can buy them relatively inexpensively. Or you can buy the expensive plastic repair kit. It is up to you.

5) You will need a small knife (or similar tool) to ply and remove the sub-frame.

6) It will be very helpful if you prepare a tray with numerous compartments to store the screws. (I used a paper egg container just because I had one by me).

My MacBook Late 2009 II is now repaired.

Using the acrylic power and its solution, the thin keyboard (core) was glued back to the upper case. After this assembling the components back was easy.

1) Acrylic powder and its solution kit
acrylicpower-solution-kit.png
(This is the Starter kit I bought.)

2) MacBook A1342 upper case. Its back side has this black 'sub-frame' that hosts two mini-speakers. It also bears some of the structural pressure applied on the keyboard.
mb-a1342-uppercase-back.png
(This shows the back side of the upper case of MacBook A1342.)

3) MacBook A1342 upper case. Its front view.
mb-a1342-uppercase-front.png
(This is the front side of the upper case of MacBook A1342.)

4) The upper case without the keyboard and the sub-frame.
mb-a1342-uppercase-skelton.png
(This is what the upper case front will look like when the keyboard and underlying sub-frame are removed. Just a skelton.)

5) The back side of 4). The smudge (somewhat green, the color of the glue?) seems to be the glue (already dry and not sticky anymore).
mb-a1342-uppercase-skelton-back.png
(This show the remnants of some glue on the back side of the upper case. This shows up when you forcibly remove the sub-frame.)

6) The sub-frame is perforated like this. These holes are covered by some kind of tape.
mb-a1342-uppercase-subframe.png
(The sub-frame is perforated, presumably to save the material and weight. It is sealed with a kind of tape.)

In Japanese: 続きをどうぞ [MacBook A1342 Keyboard Repair Completed]の続きを読む

テーマ:Mac - ジャンル:コンピュータ

  1. 2015/01/25(日) 22:20:02|
  2. MacBooks and Macs
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Acrylic powder kit arrived and the repair of my MacBook will be done soon

It smells. Even though the bottle of the solution is tightly screwed and it is wrapped in some plastic material, the smell (chemical) reeks. Not a major problem.

I am excited. My MacBook Late 2009 II (second) will be operational (a tone of Lord Darth Vader) soon.

This smell from the acrylic liquid reminds me of the time once I helped someone repair something made of so-called glass-enforced fiber. The liquid which was used to solidify the glass fiber cloth smelt just like this liquid.



In Japanese: 続きをどうぞ [Acrylic powder kit arrived and the repair of my MacBook will be done soon]の続きを読む

テーマ:Mac - ジャンル:コンピュータ

  1. 2015/01/22(木) 14:45:58|
  2. MacBooks and Macs
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Quickfix DC Plugs Magsafe and Magsafe II arrived

quickfixplug-magsafe1and2.png

This arrived. Today I performed the operation. It was not difficult. I had this universal "DC 12 Car Cigarette Plug to notebook DC plugs" converter from TRUST for years. I think I bought this when I had a HP notebook (which was stolen on the day when TdF Team Presentation was held in Liège). After this traumatic incident I bought another HP (ENVY). This ENVY had required narrower plug than other normal HP notebooks so I stopped utilizing this DC-DC converter.

I found this neat product called Quickfix DC Plugs and thought about resurrecting this TRUST converter. Its is rate at 120 Watt. As a "universal" converter, it has a mechanism to switch between various voltages. For my MacBook (or Pro) with a 13-inch LCD screen, it should be set to 16.5 V. The selector lets me choose 16 or 17 volt. If I let this adapter be used by someone who owns a MacBook Air, it should be set to a lower voltage. It does not hurt if I set the voltage at 18 or so with my MacBooks.

The operation was easy. Sever the output cable. Peel off the outer vinyl cover. With screw drivers (+ and -), tightly secure the cables inside the joint box. Be careful about the polarity (+ and -)!

Test the connection by connecting it to the power source! Done!

In Japanese: 続きをどうぞ
[Quickfix DC Plugs Magsafe and Magsafe II arrived]の続きを読む

テーマ:Mac - ジャンル:コンピュータ

  1. 2015/01/21(水) 00:11:33|
  2. MacBooks and Macs
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Let's talk about Andorra and TdF 2016.

I have never been to Andorra before. Tour de France visited Andorra in 2009. That year I did not visit Andorra.

I am intending to visit this country. It is one of the most obscure countries on the Western part of the European Continent. I have visited other small and obscure countries like Monaco, Lichtenstein and (even living in) Luxembourg.

By the way I consider Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia are not in the Western part of the Europe. I think they are located kind of Eastern part of Europe. I would like to visit all of them someday.

So I am very excited about hearing that the TdF 2016 makes a stop in Andorra for about three days. According to my favorite site velowire.com, ASO plans the stages this way.

Sunday 17 or Monday 18 July 2016: stage finish in Andorra
Monday 18 or Tuesday 19 July 2016: rest day in Andorra
Tuesday 19 or Wednesday 20 July 2015: stage start from Andorra

So the second rest day will be spent in Andorra.

Andorra (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andorra) is a small country.

In Japanese: 続きをどうぞ [Let's talk about Andorra and TdF 2016.]の続きを読む

テーマ:自転車ロードレース - ジャンル:スポーツ

  1. 2015/01/20(火) 15:52:25|
  2. Tour de France
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Amazon (Europe) and its headquarter in Luxembourg

I did not know that about 1,000 people working in Luxembourg as employees of this organization. wort.lu English reports that the deal between this company and Luxembourg's tax authorities could be illegal. EU's regulators examined the tax deal and brought charges against Luxembourg. This thing has been boiling for a while. Apple's deal with the Irish authorities has been also scrutinized for some time by now.

Also on this site (wort.lu) reports that some workers (working in Switzerland and getting paid in Swiss Francs but living in one of those surrounding countries) found themselves in a situation as they suddenly had a 30 percent of raise in salary. Wow!

Of course this raise was (is) a temporary and eventually settle. Still you have a good time going for a nice evening dinner or on a shopping spree.

On a side note, the keyboard on MSI M670 (on which I am currently writing this) got a bit uncomfortable as the space key seems to be a bit stiff on the right side where my right hand thumb lands. I think the spring underneath is off or something. It does not have a proper stroke on the right side.


In Japanese: 続きをどうぞ [Amazon (Europe) and its headquarter in Luxembourg]の続きを読む

テーマ:ヨーロッパ - ジャンル:海外情報

  1. 2015/01/18(日) 01:45:25|
  2. Info Luxembourg
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More of OS X Yosemite 10.10.2 Pre-Release (Beta)

I don't know what is happening with Yosemite but it keeps coming. More beta version of 10.10.2. My MacBook Late 2009 is on the beta version of 14C94b and MacBook Pro Mid 2010 is still on the previous beta. As the download is around 520 MB big. Apple released the latest beta (14C99d) to developers. I guess in near future I will get notified for this version. My Macs don't seem to be affected by the nasty bugs. I don't see any of those symptoms described here and there like slow Wi-Fi connections, sudden interruptions or others.

Other serious bugs like 'Spotlight Search' bugs and others will be smashed hopefully by the time we see the real 10.10.2.


The "Aryl pulver / liquid Starterset" was ordered. I bought it on the German Amazon site so the product names are in German. This starter kit includes three colored power (transparent, white and pink), solution, small mixing pot with a lid and a small paint brush. I hope this will do the job.

By the way, this job is part of repairing my MacBook Late 2009. It came with a defective keyboard when I bought it on the Net. I ordered a refurbished keyboard. To replace the keyboard, you have to remove some parts that are glued to the lower case. The keyboard is kind of soldered to the frame by melting the lower case material. I have to glue it back. I don't find any glues to complete this task.

Nail artists use this acrylic power and its solution to glue some small object on the fake nail, I think. They use brushes to apply it on the narrow spots.


In Japanese: 続きをどうぞ [More of OS X Yosemite 10.10.2 Pre-Release (Beta)]の続きを読む

テーマ:Mac - ジャンル:コンピュータ

  1. 2015/01/16(金) 02:03:46|
  2. MacBooks and Macs
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No Acrylic Power in desired portion available at a local beauty-cosmetic supply shop

I went to this local beauty supply shop (the name of the shop is in French and its English translation will be 'hairdressers' shop') today. As soon as I stepped into the shop, someone (woman), cashier at the register while checking out some products that the customer bought greeted me like, how can I help you?'

Because my presence in that shop is not so expected. The shop is almost just for women.

Anyway, I asked one of the employees if I could buy some acrylic power. The answer was they had only rather big portion of it. The price was high so I did not buy it.

Later I will shop on the Net, most likely on the Amazon (Germany). I will have to pay for the shipping but at least I don't get that curious glance at me.

So my MacBook repair won't be complete for another week.


In Japanese: 続きをどうぞ [No Acrylic Power in desired portion available at a local beauty-cosmetic supply shop]の続きを読む

テーマ:Mac - ジャンル:コンピュータ

  1. 2015/01/15(木) 15:21:27|
  2. MacBooks and Macs
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Lubuntu 14.10 on MacBook Pro (Mid 2010) is broken

I don't know what happened.

The last time it worked was a couple days ago (probably January 12 or 13). Some updates were done to the system. Maybe these updates were the cause.

Today I booted it up and it seemed OK except that some error message was there when it booted. I just dismissed the window. I started Software Updater to see if anything was up for grabs.

It swiftly tole me that Software Updater could not connect to the server. In fact it seemed no network was available. No internet although it was connected to the Wi-Fi.

I just have to reboot. After this reboot, the first thing I noticed was that the boot screen says, "No controller found."

And the booting process stops and I don't see anything beyond 'in the middle of booting screen.'

Oh, my God! I think I have to run the recovery thing or re-install the system if I want to see Lubuntu on my MacBook Pro again. Do I want it now? I don't like it.

I try to fix it by running the Recovery mode.

In Japanese: 続きをどうぞ [Lubuntu 14.10 on MacBook Pro (Mid 2010) is broken]の続きを読む

テーマ:Linux - ジャンル:コンピュータ

  1. 2015/01/14(水) 02:49:09|
  2. Linux
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MacBook A1342 Unibody Keyboard Replacement / Exchange

Well. I shopped for a glue and I think and know by now that it is 'not bad' for gluing the black sub-frame (housing two tiny speakers and resides below the keyboard) back to the upper case.

Today I did not visit a beauty cosmetic material shop near the central station (Luxembourg City Central Train Station) to see if they had acrylic power and its solution.

Tomorrow I will. I found out and now am convinced that I need this acrylic power and its solution to solder the keyboard to the upper case. There seems to be no other proper way to accomplish this task.

I tried to assemble the MacBook without properly gluing the keyboard to the upper case. This was the first. I could screw everything back and started the MacBook up. a Linux (one distribution of Linux other than Lubuntu) booted up.

The keyboard worked! I can type in the password for the account I made weeks ago with MacBook Late 2009 I (reads 'one' a.k.a. the other MacBook 2009). So finally I knew that the keyboard on this MacBook 2009 II (two) was faulty.

Now I have a second working MacBook 2009. Not quite so. As I did not glue the keyboard back to the upper case, Some keys sank (as the keyboard is basically just a thin metal and flexible). This needed to be corrected.

I disassembled the MacBook II (two) again and assembled it again. This time I put some thick (1 mm) tape on the back side of the keyboard (two layers) to make it rest on the sub-frame. It seemed to work at a glance. I assembled the MacBook and booted it up.

I noticed something. The LCD screen does not quite close. I found out that the keyboard is a bit bloated from inside and pushed up the screen. This was why.

I put too much stuffing between the keyboard and the sub-frame. So I had to disassemble it again.

I already disassemble/assembled the MacBook Late 2009 three times. I am getting very good at doing this. I don't say I am as good as Mr. Forrest Gump at dis-assembly and assembly but I am getting there.

So my conclusion is that I need to glue back all of those tiny spots scattered on the back side of the keyboard. To do this I think I have to buy acrylic power and its solution.

Another conclusion is that you can repair the keyboard by swapping them on MacBook Unibody A1342. It takes a bit complicated work but it is feasible after all.

This entry's title is for so-called "Search Engines," that search the Net for these keywords. I will provide some crucial pictures of my own later for those who might be wondering if they can repair their MacBook A1342 when the keyboard goes faulty.

By the way, MacBook Pro's keyboard is screwed to the aluminum upper case. It is easier to repair (replace) the keyboard on a MacBook Pro.

In Japanese: 続きをどうぞ [MacBook A1342 Unibody Keyboard Replacement / Exchange]の続きを読む

テーマ:Mac - ジャンル:コンピュータ

  1. 2015/01/13(火) 23:44:24|
  2. MacBooks and Macs
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How to assemble the MacBook Late 2009 II

My MacBook Late 2009 II (the second machine) is now being operated on and is disassembled for the moment. The main objective was to replace the (presumably broken) keyboard and thus everything had to be removed from the lower case.

The keyboard itself (a fragile thin component planted on a thin metal) is soldered (by means of applying heat to the lower-case material) to the lower case. To properly re-attach the keyboard, I will have to devise a mean to glue it to the lower case. I may try some glue. I might have to resort to using acrylic power/solution to achieve the best result.

The sub-frame, which support the keyboard and hosts the right/left stereo speakers, was glued to the lower case. It took me some time to forcibly remove this sub-frame as I did not want to break anything during the procedure. I have to glue it back to the lower case.

OK, the above process will be done in a week or so (if I could find some desired glues).


The question is how to re-assemble it. I was thinking about removing the optical drive at all to make the MacBook lighter and more efficient in terms of cooling.

There is one problem. The speaker (woofer) and Airport module (Wi-Fi and Bluetooth) needs to be fixed to the optical drive housing.
screwonopticaldrivehousing.jpg
(image borrowed from www.ifixit.com)

If I don't use this screw to stabilize the cables (Wi-Fi antenna and co.), the Airport module will not be secure. I have to see if I can do away with the optical drive.

On the other hand, I have already an adapter to be fitted in there. This adapter goes into the place of the optical drive and houses a 2.5 inch HDD or SSD (SATA). I can use this adapter to put second drive, either a HDD or an SSD.

If and when I decide to place a secondary drive (HDD/SSD), it will carry Mac OS X Yosemite. I don't really need a Yosemite on this MacBook.


The main drive bay will be fitted with an Intel SSD (40 GB). It (this SSD) has been loaded with a distribution of Linux already.


In Japanese: 続きをどうぞ [How to assemble the MacBook Late 2009 II]の続きを読む

テーマ:Mac - ジャンル:コンピュータ

  1. 2015/01/12(月) 16:39:19|
  2. MacBooks and Macs
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MacBook Late 2009 II is now being operated on

I am now operating on the MacBook Late 2009 now. Removing components that are screwed down is easy. It took no time to get those components off.

The difficult part is removing the components that are glued and/or heat-treated down. And off course putting them down where they were with alternative ways.

The sub-frame that holds the tiny small right/left speakers (not the woofer) and support the keyboard (a flimsy thin metal structure) is glued to the lower case. You have to pry open the gap slowly to remove it.

I heard some awful cracking/screaming noises during the prying procedure but I survived.

The keyboard is fastened to the case by heat-treating the poly-carbonate material. You can easily pop the fastening points by force but how do I put it back?

I need some glue for sure. I will have to go shopping before putting the components back.

I did not break anything (except for the small foot on the cooling fan that I had already described here weeks ago) during the operation. I think I can put the MacBook together later.

In the mean time i had done the heat sink cleaning by removing the brittle what left of ex-silicon grease and by appling fresh greasy silicon grease between the CPU/GPU and the heat sink on both MacBook Late 2009 I and II. This was easy.


In Japanese: 続きをどうぞ [MacBook Late 2009 II is now being operated on]の続きを読む

テーマ:Mac - ジャンル:コンピュータ

  1. 2015/01/11(日) 01:14:02|
  2. MacBooks and Macs
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Fanta as a name for a person (presumably for a girl)

I was reading articles on www.wort.lu and found an interesting article.

It is about statistics of baby names registered in Luxembourg in 2014.

In Europe (exception would be UK and Ireland, maybe), generally a person is called by his/her name. If a person is called by the name of Tom, this person is Tom on the dotted line. In the USA, everybody assumes that a person by the name Tom is really Thomas on the dotted line (the real given name given by the parents).

So they (names) tend to be shorter than those of US American people's.

Anyway, the popular names for babies in 2014 were given in this article. There were no surprises. Actually the results were boring and predictable.


The part I want to show you (the readers) appears at the bottom. The authorities refused to register several names because they decided that those names were not in the best welfare for or interest of the babies. The article tells only one name, Fanta.

Perhaps the writer (or editor) of the news article showed their discretion by not telling us other names. Showing those turned down names might inspire people to improvise more creatively cunningly horrendous names that might be overlooked by the authorities.

The reason is, I assume, that Fanta is not a traditional name (although the parents could have insisted that it was a short form of Fantasia or Fantasy) and it is a very well-known "registered" trademark of a drink.

I want to know just curiosity what the baby in the end got for a name. And I would like to know if the parents were in any way working in the beverage business (including the production, delivery or wholesale/retail). Or if the parents' family name was Orange or something.


In Japanese: 続きをどうぞ

[Fanta as a name for a person (presumably for a girl)]の続きを読む

テーマ:ヨーロッパ - ジャンル:海外情報

  1. 2015/01/05(月) 00:22:17|
  2. Info Luxembourg
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Quickfix Magsafe repair kits and Realtek chip Wi-Fi (USB)

A quick fix can have an innuendo. I learned this a long long time ago. It can also mean a lot of things.

I was looking for Magsafe related items on the Amazon (Germany) and stumbled upon this. A company (http://quickfixdcplugs.miiduu.com/) in the UK sells a series of products; basically electric gadgets related to modifying/repairing PC power plugs.

I have a 12 V DC (automobile) to variable DC voltages adapter with many changeable plugs for notebooks (120 W). I used to use this but stopped using this after my HP notebook was stolen in 2013 in Liège, Belgium. One of the plugs was good for HP notebooks but my HP ENVY uses a slightly different plug and I can not use this DC-DC converter anymore.

Last year I bought a in-car use Magsafe charger for my MacBook (Pro). It worked fine except for the USB port on this device. The USB port (for charging some devices) did not work at all when I tested it. I don't know why.

Anyway, with one of their products I can utilize this long forgotten neglected DC-DC converter again.
quickfixplug-magsafe1and2.png

The item I bought was this above. It has a L-shape Magsafe plug and a straight Magsafe 2 plug coming out of the joint box. All I have to do is to cut the cord of my old DC-DC converter and connect the lines in the joint box. How thoughtful! What a nice gadget!


I also ordered a USB external Wi-Fi adapter with a Realtek chip inside, a RTL8187L chip to be exact. This device will be paired with my MacBook Late 2009 NO. 2 when it is ready to go.


In Japanese: 続きをどうぞ [Quickfix Magsafe repair kits and Realtek chip Wi-Fi (USB)]の続きを読む

テーマ:Mac - ジャンル:コンピュータ

  1. 2015/01/04(日) 01:28:37|
  2. MacBooks and Macs
  3. | トラックバック:0
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That cyber attack on Sony was not perpetrated by ...?

I did not expect this until I saw some reports on the net suggesting the possibility of that cyber attack was not done by the country that FBI involved in the case.

I, however, wrote that this was too good to be a negative incident but that this was a great promotion for the movie. Was it? Some security company pointed to some individuals who are ex-Sony Pictures employees.

Anyway, in either case, the matter is far far beyond my territory so I just want to say that I was not too surprised to hear the news.



In Japanese: 続きをどうぞ [That cyber attack on Sony was not perpetrated by ...?]の続きを読む

テーマ:日記 - ジャンル:日記

  1. 2015/01/01(木) 22:50:33|
  2. Diary
  3. | トラックバック:0
  4. | コメント:0

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Leopard

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ロード自転車レースが好きでロードレースを追いかけてます

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