France, Food, Scooters and More

One of the pleasures of living in this part of the world is discovering new places to enjoy well-prepared, reasonably priced meals in pleasant surroundings with congenial hosts. Auberge de Reals typifies that pleasure. The restaurant is located near a picturesque bridge over the Orb River off the main road between Cazouls-les-Beziers and Cessenon sur Orb. The view from the terrace must be quite nice in summer but we came in late January and so had to 'settle' for the main dining room with its crackling fire, stone walls, wooden beams, and tile floors. Be aware, in winter the Auberge is closed Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. We joined a healthy Thursday lunch crowd, very congenial, many of whom seemed to be local regulars. Service was attentive without being intrusive, pleasant without being overly familiar. Given the nearly full house, our orders arrived surprisingly briskly, not hurried but not as leisurely as some restaurants in the region. We ordered from t

97% of peer reviewed articles by quantum physicists agree. The Trump Presidency represents the climax of a simulation that has been running for billions of years, code named The Universe. "It's obvious," said Neil deGrasse Tyson. "The simulation has run its course. There's no way forward. I expect a reboot any mo

I refuse to live in a post-truth world. We can argue about policies and their potential outcomes but I refuse to argue about facts. Earth is not 6,000 years old. I don't have to prove it. You either get it or you don't. Early humans did not ride dinosaurs like primitive cowboys. The Flintstones is a cartoon, not a documentary. Sorry to disappoint you. Which brings us to President Trump's Press Secretary Sean Spicer's first official press conference. Spicer said: 1. The pictures showing the difference in the size of the crowd at Trump's inauguration as compared to Obama's were flawed because it was the first time that white flooring had been put down to protect the grass on The Mall. That's a lie. It was not the first time. 2. Magnetometers were used for the first time at entry points to The Mall, slowing the formation of the crowd. That's a damned lie. Magnetometers were not used at all. 3. DC Metro rider numbers during Trump's inaugu

The abortion rate in the United States has been cut in half since 1980. Teen pregnancies are on a downward slope as well. Abortion foes say that the declines are because many states have passed legislation severely restricting abortion. But the birth rate hasn't risen in the meantime. So the reduction of the abortion rate cannot be because of those restrictions. There are only two possible reasons. Either Americans are having less sex or they are practicing contraception. European analysts have been quick to suggest that a lack of sexual activity among Americans should not be a surprise to anyone. "The American attitude toward sex is like the European attitude toward Russia," explained Dutch sexologist Hans Palmstroker. "We are fascinated by it but every time we dip our schwanzstucker in, we get burned." American conservatives, on the other hand, are reluctant to believe anything that can be proven statistically. Talk show commentator Russ Fury explained, &

First, the guy with The Nose checks out what the harvesters bring. They shake hands. They discuss. The aroma when one of the harvesters opened his container and presented his goods to The Nose, plus the fact that very little trimming of his harvested truffles was required, caused Cathey to choose him as our target. Preparing for inspection... Each and every truffle is inspected individually. The Nose slices off a small bit. The guy on the right assists. The Nose takes a sniff. Sniffing is serious stuff. Our friend Nicola confirms with The Nose, it's all about the aroma. Little else matters. Those that pass inspection are weighed and recorded to add to the report of the national harvest. Those that fail are put aside. There is no discussion. The Nose has the final word. Those that pass are put in a sealed sack to prevent hanky-panky. Meanwhile, elsewhere in the market you can buy a half dozen eggs sealed with a bit of truffle for 13.50 euros. Or you

US President-elect Donald Trump revealed today that E.T. had hacked the US elections. And yes, the goal was to get Trump elected. "E.T. is smart," said Trump. "He knew that I was the only President who could keep the world safe from the aliens who President Whitmore first defeated in 1996." When a reporter suggested that E.T. and Independence Day were works of fiction, Trump was obstinate. "Vladimir Putin has assured me that Independence Day was a documentary. And he showed me E.T.'s long-form birth certificate," Trump continued. "Who are you going to believe, a West Coast liberal like Spielberg or a patriotic American like Vlad?"