DID YOU KNOW? Super Smash Bros. Brawl is coming out for the Wii on December 3, 2007.

France. I'm in France. But I just got done with Italy. And I just got done with uploading way, way too much blog to the other blog that MIT pays me to write. So you should go over and read that now. At your leisure. I mean, because it still applies here--you, too could write 6,000 words of blog entries on an 8-hour train ride, if you just choose MIT as your undergraduate institution.

Basically my job has evolved into a never-ending search for free wireless access. Today that came in the form of a McDonald's in Marseille, France. Seriously. As Samuel L. Jackson prophesied so long ago, their main hamburger is indeed called a "Royale with Cheese." But one thing I wasn't ready for was that another one of their sandwiches is called a Croque McDo, which I guess must be some unhealthy version of the Croque-monsieur, which is itself just grilled cheese with cream on top, and a fried egg, if you're a lady.

But I didn't get any of that today, I just got a milk shake, which is just called a Milk Shake, not a... I don't know, a Lait Shake? I really don't speak this language. So I bought my 95-cent Lait Shake and sat here for 3 hours using free McWireless. Problem was that apparently MIT's FTP server didn't like being contacted by a wireless host called MCDONALDS. Yeah, I can't really imagine why. So I couldn't upload any of my photos. Which was the whole reason I came to McDonald's in the first place. I mean, I'm glad I found out about the Croque McDo and everything, but I was kind of bummed.

So I was looking through free photo upload sites, which I'd never used before because MIT webspace is just so convenient, and about fifteen minutes later, I said to myself, "You know, I bet Google has an application for this." I mean, duh, Sam.

Okay, seriously, they're playing "No Scrubs" now, in this McDonalds in Marseille where you can order a Croque McDo. I can't even process this anymore.

Anyway, five minutes later I uploaded all the photos I needed to upload to Google Photos using my Croque-McFreeWireless. It might not be the best upload space up there, but, then again, since it's Google, it very well might be. Now I'm off on a bus to Aix-en-Provence, France. I think.

I'll probably be in Spain by the next time I blog, so, until then... Hasta mañana, monsieur.

Comments (Closed after 30 days to reduce spam)

So you gotta shorty and you don't show love?
OH YES SON I'M TALKIN' TO YOU

Posted by: Jess on July 12, 2007

Haha, is hasta manhana

Posted by: Susan11 on July 12, 2007

ABSOLUTELY I know about Brawl, and I am SO ready to take down everybody! E3 is like the best time of year after Christmas!

Sounds like blogging is going well, and I'm glad you got to experience the joy of photo uploading to some random website, who in all likelihood, will shut down sometime in the future and delete all your pictures (Can you say Yahoo photo?)

Thanks for the update, it was a good read. Quick and entertaining, very nice.

Posted by: Snively on July 12, 2007

Will you take me to Europe with you? I'm loveable, friendly, and will fit in your suitcase.

I hope your trip goes AMAZING. Thanks for the update!

Posted by: Wings '11 on July 12, 2007

I was actually going to write something about "No Scrubs" but Jess did it already.

crap.

Anyway, that's a classic. I wonder whatever happened to that one that died...

Posted by: milena '11 on July 12, 2007

In reference to your other blog: I lived in Italy while Carter was president and did a lot of train traveling. I don't know if this is still true today, but trains used to stop in the middle of fields because the train employees would go on strike. Sometimes the strikes lasted 5 minutes and sometimes up to 30 minutes, but a little patience worked wonders. We always reached our destination.

Posted by: Mom 08 & 11 on July 12, 2007

HI ! guy whats about mitra

Posted by: muhamamd asim shehzad on July 13, 2007

don't you mean "digg" me?
and yeah, google seems to have an application for just about anything you can think of

Posted by: Arkajit on July 13, 2007

Wow! Sounds like quite an experience! I hope the remainder of your trip proves as entertaining as this! I may have missed previous posts that further explained this, but what is the objective of your travel? Leisure? I noticed that most of the bloggers here travel extensively during the Summer. Do most undergrads do so? If so, are the trips of any relevance to MIT or just personal endeavors?

Posted by: Cody Dean on July 13, 2007

I read (on digg.com) that there is this grandmother in Sweden (I think) who now has the world's fastest internet connection, thanks to her son, who works for a communications company. Her connection gets 40 Gb/s. I bet that beats French McDonald's.

Posted by: Maia '11 on July 13, 2007

Yeah, I read about her, and instantly became jealous. The article mentioned that she's never had a computer before, but now thanks to her son she can download an entire HD DVD in under 2 seconds. OMFG is about all that can accurately describe that internet connection.

Posted by: Snively on July 13, 2007

Damn! 40 GBPS... I'm jealous!

Posted by: Basant'11 on July 14, 2007

Hi, Sam. It's 2:30am and I can't think of anything better to post. I should be asleep, but In and Out with Kevin Kline is on, and it seems interesting. So far it's been full of lulz.

Okay, I know you hate that word, I'm sorry.

Posted by: Hank R. on July 14, 2007

At times like these (hearing about the 40GB monster), it leads me to speculate exactly how much of my life I've wasted waiting for webpages to load on my very slow internet connection (grr for Taiwanese network monopolies). =_____=

Posted by: oasis '11 on July 14, 2007

where is mitra?
She hasnt entered any blog entry

Posted by: asim on July 16, 2007

I'm eager to know what MIT's unofficial motto --IHTFP-- stands for. Someone,please, help with this.

I guess it is a lartin word for "hands and mind for development."
Thanks

Omorx

Posted by: Omorx on July 16, 2007

Oo, talk about a can of worms. I forsee this post being flooded with peoples' answers to Omorx's question.

IHTFP stands for pretty much anything you want it to. The two most popular are "I Have Truly Found Paradise" and "I Hate This F****** Place" but there are hundreds more.

Posted by: Snively on July 16, 2007

Like Snively, I Have This Funny Premonition...that this entry will soon go downhill.

Posted by: Paul '11 on July 16, 2007

Thanks Sniverly and Paul for your answers- no wonder it's truly an unofficial motto. But I would like to hear from a student;an already registered student. I believe you guys are still prospective students.

My interpretation for IHTFP is I Hate To Feel Proud. You know when you are in a very top school,like MIT, lots of people are gonna think you're proud. So, IHTFP could very well mean that you hate to feel proud when you are a MITy boy. (oops)

Omorx

Posted by: Omorx on July 17, 2007

*looks over at Paul*

Prospective? I'm not prospective, are you prospective Paul?

Posted by: Snively on July 17, 2007

Prospective? I'm worse than prospective, I'm a freshman!

That being said, I've found something that may satisfy you, Omorx. Here's something newly-minted MIT alum Jessie once said about IHTFP:

"We torture ourselves beyond what we thought we could stand, and in the process, we find satisfaction and fulfillment. The people who hate it the most, love it the most, and it's not contradictory. The more of their soul they put into it, the more they get back out."

Posted by: Paul '11 on July 17, 2007

"Prospective? I'm worse than prospective, I'm a freshman!"

Hahahaha don't mess with freshmen!

It kinda sucks that they still call us prefrosh. When I go around campus with my upperclassmen friends and they introduce me to someone else, they introduce me as Milena, a prefrosh. Not nice.

Posted by: milena '11 on July 17, 2007

Hey, I can't understand Milena. Do you mean you have started classes or doing summer program in school? I want to know why you are in school now. Maybe I should have posted this as a coment on your blog. (sorry about this.)

Posted by: Omorx on July 18, 2007

Hey, I can't understand Milena. Do you mean you have started classes or doing summer program in school? I want to know why you are in school now. Maybe I should have posted this as a coment on your blog. (I'm sorry about this.)

Posted by: Omorx on July 18, 2007

Milena:

At least on my hall, it's a cultural thing--you officially become 'frosh' when you arrive on campus for Orientation. Until then you're prefrosh--and (to satisfy conservation of freshmen) I'm still a freshman. There's also a rule about conserving seniors, though... so they moved up as soon as the '07s graduated. The sophomore apparently also become juniors, so over the summer there are no sophomores. Or something like that.

I do agree that it's an strange system created by The Man (read: upperclassmen) to keep us from getting uppity, but it's all in good spirit. In your case, it's just that summer programs are a strange phenomenon--it's not term yet, so we don't really know what to do with you yet. No worries, all will be sorted out soon.

Posted by: Scott '10 on July 18, 2007

Sam, if your croque-monsieurs have been coming with only cheese and cream, you've been cheated. Croque-monsieurs are grilled sandwiches of yummy gruyere (that's basically Swiss cheese, to you Americans) and yummy ham. The ham's important. If you're ever in Shanghai, drop by my apartment and my mom will make you some. In France waffle irons tend to come with two sets of molds -- a waffle mold, and a croque-monsieur mold, so you can grill your croque-monsieurs in them (well, maybe in the US too, I don't know -- I've actually never owned an American waffle iron).

And when you add an egg on top, you do make a croque-madame, but it's a totally different sandwich and is in no way intended just for ladies... I don't like them as much personally; too much egg stickiness.

Posted by: Dizzle '09 on August 1, 2007

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