The History of Technology

 Bon jour, mes amies,

It's turned warm and a bit humid, but I'm thinking some nice green tea will set me up.  I wear a mask out, and I'm not the only one, but there are few of us and even fewer that wear the mask correctly.  I don't understand leaving one's nostrils hanging out.  There's no point then is there.  Stop pretending and take the thing off.

I set out this morning with great confidence and promptly got turned around and lost.  This has happened many times before, and no doubt, will happen many times in future. My policy is not to panic and keep going knowing I'll get to where I should be . . . eventually, but what should have been a twenty minute walk became a forty-five minute walk.  Paris is well sign posted, which made it easier once I arrived in the correct neighborhood.  One thing, Paris was made for people, not cars, and yet there are a lot of vehicles, and they all seem to honk.  The drivers aren't actively trying to kill anyone, but I'm afraid of being backed into or something.

Today's target was the Musee des Arts et Metiers, which traces the history various forms of technology.  There are a lot of models, and some exhibits of the actual machines, all of which are well explained.  I did enjoy it, but it gets to be embarrassing when they get to the Twentieth Century, and I'm going, yeah, I remember using that.  And who but someone my age could get excited over Telstar?  The galleries cover textiles, engineering, communication, and transportation.  I found Blaise Pascal's calculating machine from the Seventeen Century fascinating.  Among my favorites were two exquisite mechanical dolls, which featured in a video I used to show my ninth graders to illustrate the Industrial Revolution.  One is an acrobat, and another is an aristocratic looking young woman who can play the hammered dulcimer.  I had to climb a lot of stairs though and dodge school groups.

Then it was time to come home, and of course, I got turned around again, but I figured it out and came back via Rue Montorgueil.  It presented a very lively scene, and numerous temptations met my eyes and nose.  The cheese shops were open!  It's a much shorter walk there, so I can get my cheese fixes more easily.  I am also contemplating the rotisserie chickens.  They let the chicken juice drip down where they are roasting potatoes at the bottom.  I did buy something.  I went in to the Italian deli and came out with a bottle of extra virgin olive oil, for which I payed quite a bit, but I have tasted it, and it's good and it made me cough, when tends to be a sign of freshness and the presence of healthful polyphenols.  I'll have some with pasta this afternoon.

A demain