Halloween

Halloween is celebrated on the night of October 31.
Originated from the Pagan festival Samhain, it is celebrated among the Celts of Ireland and Great Britain. Irish and Scottish immigrants carried versions of the tradition to North America in the nineteenth century.
The term Halloween is shortened from All-hallow-even, as it is the eve of "All Hallows' Day", All Saints' Day.
Many European cultural traditions, in particular Celtic cultures, hold that Halloween is one of the times of the year when spirits can make contact with the physical world, and when magic is most potent...

The main event for children of modern Halloween in the United States and Canada is trick-or-treating, in which children disguise themselves in costumes and go door-to-door in their neighborhoods, ringing each doorbell and yelling "trick or treat!" to solicit a gift of candy or similar items.

We went to the Valley Fair Shopping center to see the children in costumes, walking from store to store to get some candies or gifts. It is so cute to see babies and toddlers disguised in pumpkins, nemo and other vegetables or heros...

Then, we took the road for the Stanford University campus where some students organized a party for Halloween. We did not stay late because we have to work tomorrow but it was fun. I did not have any specific costume so I decided to dress as a "school girl". A student told me that I was disguised in Britney Spears... Hey, that was not really what I had in mind when I dressed up...

Et de deux...

15h54: je suis au bureau. Ma chaise se met à trembler puis je réalise que c'est toute la pièce....
Ma collègue bondit de son siège pour se diriger vers la sortie... Mais ce n'était qu'une petite réplique de 3.7 sur l'échelle de Richter. Il parait que depuis le tremblement de terre d'hier (5.6 sur l'échelle de Richter), il y a eu environ 30 répliques, mais beaucoup plus faibles et que je n'ai donc pas remarqué... à part celle de cet après-midi au bureau...
Mis à part des produits qui tombent des étagères et quelques ruptures de canalisation d'eaux, il n'y a pas eu de dégâts à déplorer pour cette fois-ci.
Le fait de vivre dans une région sismique active, ca fait quand même bizarre surtout quand tout le monde parle du "big one" qui peut arriver n'importe quand. Ces phénomènes naturels devant lesquels nous sommes bien impuissants vous fait réaliser que la vie est fragile.

Earthquake in San Jose / Tremblement de terre à San José

It was not the big one but, for the first earthquake I experienced in my life, it was a pretty strong one: 5.6 in magnitude.
The quake's epicenter was about five miles north-northeast of Alum Rock, California, and nine miles northeast of San Jose's City Hall, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

8:04 pm: I was at the Beauty Shop. The walls started to tremor. The other person was staring at the electrical equipement. In a first place, I thought the noise was coming from those machines and I was afraid it was an electrical problem and they will start burning... But then, I felt that the table I was laying on was shaking and I said to myself: "Oh la la, this is an earthquake!".
So, I get up and started to move toward the exit. Outside, I could hear car alarms activated.
The strength of the shaking fade but then again, I felt a second tremor. The impression is like you are not any more in a safe building but like in a car that is losing control. I did not think that walls could move like this. I was also surprise that the electricity power was not cut.
Right after the shaking stopped, Jean called me on my cell to make sure I was ok. "Yeah, I am fine." He was at the grocery store near Valley Fair when the earthquake started. He said that people started rushing outside. Products were falling from the shelves. He received a bottle of chocolate dip on the head (hopefully, it was a plastic one) and lot of other products felt on the ground. Then, it stopped. So, he bought the few things we needed and then, walked out of the store. Once on the parking, everybody was leaving Valley Fair shopping center. People reported that when it started in the shopping mall, customers started to panic and rush towards the exits.

Then, I met Jean at home where only a few things on shelves felt on the floor. Apparently, nothing broken or damaged. Now, it really makes you realize that you need to elaborate a plan for when the "big one" will happen. All the scientists agree on that: it is not a matter of IF it happens but WHEN it happens... and they predict it for a very nearby future.. 2008... Be ready!

30 Days Of Night

1h53 mins: I was stuck to my seat the whole time...

"They" are hungry, "they" are strong, "they" can smell your blood, "they" will not stop tracking you and ...."they" have 30 days of complete dark to do so...

What a scary movie! If you like vampires and horror movies, you will be fully served!!!
Even the soundtrack alone is frightening! It simulates your heart beating harder and harder and makes you jump on your seat! This movie combines suspense, shock, horror, and gore.
If you like this kind of movies, I encourage you to see it, it is a good one. Otherwise... stay away! Far away...

Synopsis: Producer Sam Raimi (Spider-Man™) brings audiences the terrifying thriller 30 Days of Night, set in the isolated town of Barrow, Alaska, in the extreme northern hemisphere, which is plunged into complete darkness annually for an entire month. When most of the inhabitants head south for the winter, a mysterious group of strangers appear: bloodthirsty vampires, ready to take advantage of the uninterrupted darkness to feed on the town's residents. As the night wears on, Barrow's Sheriff Eben (Josh Hartnett), his estranged wife Stella (Melissa George), and an ever-shrinking group of survivors must do anything they can to last until daylight.

Scary first Birthday

Today, we went to a special Halloween party organized by our friends Sam and Kim to celebrate their daughter's first Birthday.

Yep, already a year since Vannalys frightened her parents by deciding to arrive in the world on Halloween day in 2006!

The theme party was Halloween with a pumpkin carving workshop for children.
Happy First Birthday Vannalys! Don't grow up too fast and stay cute!

Dîner “dansant” chez Justine et Gael

Ce soir, nous étions invités à dîner chez Justine et Gael, un couple d’amis étudiants en doctorat et post-doc à l’université de Stanford.

Ce sont de grands amateurs de camping, kayak et randonnées. Nous avons donc appris pleins de choses et eu pleins de conseils sur les parcs à visiter en Californie. On va pouvoir faire les touristes et des week-ends sympas dans les alentours.

Ce sont aussi de très bons danseurs et comme ils nous avaient impressionnés lors de notre dernière party, on leur a demandé de nous faire un petit cours de danse entre le fromage et le dessert…

Alors, pour le rock de base, il ne faut pas être trop mou ou trop dur, il faut avoir les bras pliés et un peu rigides, façon poupée barbie, pour l’homme comme pour la femme (désolée, les bras façon Ken, ça ne marche pas…). Le couple doit toujours garder un cadre et faire ressort avec les bras… Ensuite, c’est l’homme qui dirige la femme en lui faisant des signes pour qu’elle tourne à gauche ou à droite. Après chaque figure, il faut reformer son cadre. C’est bien çà Gael, je ne me suis pas trompée ?
Comme dit Jean, en une soirée il a appris à passer de la technique de l’”enclume” à la technique du cadre à ressort…

Encore un grand merci Justine et Gael pour cette sympatique soirée. La prochaine fois, c’est moi qui vous apprend les danses bretonnes avec la technique du petit doigt et des bras ballants…

Yosemite National Park: Sequoia trees and Glacier Point View

Sunday, we headed to the Yosemite park's South Entrance to visit the Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias.
It is the largest stand of giant sequoias in Yosemite: 200 trees, scientifically called Sequoiadendron giganteum, also known as Sierra redwoods or big trees.
Giant Sequoia are the most massive trees in the world and are one of the tallest and longest-lived (Coast Redwoods that live along the Northern Californian coast are the tallest). These trees were much more widespread before the start of the last Ice Age.

We hiked the few miles trail to see the "Grizzly giant", the "Bachelor and the three Graces", the "Telescope tree" and the "fallen tree"...
All along the road, we saw lots of Western gray squirrel (Sciurus griseus), some Mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) and some Steller's jay (Cyanocitta stelleri) which is a comic, bright-blue bird with a pointed gray-black crest.

Mid-afternoon, it was time to take the car for Glacier Point Road where the end gives you a breathtaking view of the valley: it overlooks it by 3,214 feet. It is very famous for its beautiful sunsets.
After this week-end filled with adventure and hiking action, we slept like marmots...

Week-end at Yosemite National Park!

Finally, after two years in North California, we were able to organize a week-end with eight of our friends at Yosemite National Park!
Yosemite is visited by over 3.5 million people each year, with most visitors only seeing the seven square miles (18 km²) of Yosemite Valley. Designated a World Heritage Site in 1984, Yosemite is internationally recognized for its spectacular granite cliffs, waterfalls, Giants Sequoia groves and biological diversity. About 89% of the park is designated wilderness...
We took off around 5 am saturday morning at two cars to drive the small four-hour drive that separate us from Yosemite. We lost our car's friend on the road and we were not able to find them later since none of our cell phones had coverage in the park...
Entrance fee is $20/per car (valid for seven days in the park), $40 for the Yosemite annual pass and $80 for annual pass to all Federal recreation sites. We chosed this last one since we plan to visit other parks this upcoming year.

It was a little foggy when we arrived at Yosemite which made the scenery even more beautiful.
Our first stop was to take pictures of El Capitan, the largest granite monolith in the world!
Then, we parked the car at Yosemite Valley where there is a small museum and an indian village to visit.
Hiking action started with the 3 miles (4,8 kms) of Mist Trail to go to the top of Vernal Fall, one of the few Yosemite waterfalls that is not yet dry. This trail is said to be strenuous in difficulty and 1,000 foot (305 m) in elevation gain.
We rested at the top to eat our picnic, surrounded by some kind of squirrels obviously very interested in what we were eating.
With fall season, trees shows beautiful yellow, red, pink colors. It was the perfect time to visit the park.

On the road back to the parking, we found our four others canadian friends! As we were all tired, we went to the Mariposa Lodge which is located at one-hour drive outside the park (we booked two 2-queen-size-bed rooms x 1 night at $89/night + tax = $195.80, or $24.475/person...). The quality and cleanliness was quite good for this kind of hotel. I will recommend it.
Then, well, we slept...

Feng's Farewell Dinner

Thursday's evening, we organized at the last minute a dinner at home for my colleague Feng.

After several years spent in Singapore, she came in San Jose to join my company. We worked together on Oracle for a year, sharing lunches and coffee breaks. She is now heading back to China.

For this typical "French Dinner", we had the great company of Kareem, Clement, Stephane, Sunil and of course Feng.
Thank you all for making this evening so special! We had a real fun time.

Street Dancing in San Francisco

Sunday afternoon, we spend the time enjoying the animations in the streets of San Francisco. And of course, doing some "window shopping"...
By chance, we assisted to some street dancing while passing by Market Street. Enjoy!

Black Party !

October, month of Halloween, winter approaching, time for a party!

As we did the White party this summer, let's do a Black party, kind of pre-Halloween celebration... The theme is simple: dress in black! This time, no excuses to not follow the dress code! And I must say it was pretty well followed by our guests.
We were around 40 people and a half... yes, there was a 6 months pregnant women among us...
We hope you all enjoyed the party!
Special thanks to the ones that stayed to help us clean up after the party around 3 am...
Next time, we will have to find an even better theme. Suggestions are welcome!
(As usual, more pictures on the links to your right)

Change a light, Change the world !

The ENERGY STAR Change a Light Campaign is a national challenge to encourage every American to help change the world, one light — one energy-saving step — at a time.
This month, EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) and the U.S. Department of Energy lunch the campaign "Change a light, change the world".

The facts are here: if every American home replaced just one light bulb with an ENERGY STAR qualified bulb, we would save:

• enough energy to light more than 3 million homes for a year,
• more than $600 million in annual energy costs,
• and prevent greenhouse gases equivalent to the emissions of more than 800,000 cars!!!

This is huge and I really think it worth it to change your bulbs.
Those ENERGY STAR qualified bulbs CFLs (Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs) use about 75 percent less energy than standard incandescent bulbs and last up to 10 times longer:

• Save about $30 or more in electricity costs over each bulb's lifetime.
• Produce about 75 percent less heat, so they're safer to operate and can cut energy costs associated with home cooling.

Did you know that lighting accounts for about 20 percent of a home's electricity use?

So, don't wait: change your bulbs in your living room, your bedroom, your bathroom... it will be much better for the environment plus you will save money!!!

Environmental responsibility is everyone's responsibility.

The HeartBreak Kid

Synopsis: Single and indecisive, Eddie (Ben Stiller) begins dating the incredibly sexy and seemingly fabulous Lila. Upon the urging of his father and best friend, Eddie proposes to her after only a week, fearing this may be his last chance at love, marriage, and happiness. However, while on their honeymoon in sunny Mexico, Lila reveals her true beyond-awful nature and Eddie meets Miranda, the woman he realizes to be his actual soul mate. Eddie must keep his new, increasingly horrid wife at bay as he attempts to woo the girl of his dreams.

Friday night, let's go see a movie!
We picked the new comedy released yesterday from the directors of "There's Something About Mary" and staring Ben Stiller amongst other things.
It was a nice comedy but it doesn't worth it to see it on a big screen. My advice: wait for that one to be released in DVD! Plus, you see most of the gags in the previews: (however, the most 'chocking' ones are not there...)