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Le compte tours est enfin terminé, équipé d'une nouvelle version du logiciel afin de corriger des bugs (signal de faux départ lorsque la voiture démarre pendant la configuration, calcul erroné de la durée du premier tour) et d'ajouter des fonctionnalités (un appui sur l'un des deux boutons noirs pendant la course termine le chronométrage et revient à l'écran de configuration sans perdre la configuration précédente). Le bouton RESET (rouge) devient inutile, sauf en cas de plantage du logiciel, ce qui n'est pas encore arrivé.

Voici le portique que j'avais construit l'été dernier. Il est en place dans le circuit de Noël 2010 et relié au boitier.

Les LEDs infrarouges sont montées sur le portique et éclairent la piste.

Elles sont montées en série avec une résistance 82 Ω et alimentées sous 5 V, ce qui donne un courant de 12 mA environ.

La lumière des LED infrarouges est détectée par des phototransistors placés sous la piste. Les rails de guidage du morceau de piste servant à l'origine de compte-tours sont percés de fentes (le picot de guidage des voitures faisait avancer à travers cette fente une roue portant des nombres), et la lumière d'une LED peut donc atteindre le phototransistor correspondant, qui reste cependant bien protégé de la lumière ambiante.

Chaque phototransistor est relié au +5 V par une résistance pull-up de 1 kΩ. Les entrées de l'Arduino sont connectées aux collecteurs des phototransistors. Lorsque ces derniers sont éclairés, le signal est bas (0), et lorsqu'une voiture passe, il est haut (1).

Un circuit compact cette fois-ci, car la place habituelle que j'utilise pour monter le circuit est occupée par le sapin de Noël. Grande innovation cependant cette fois-ci, l'ajout du compte tours électronique.

© Buzzcine.com

Émilie, co-propriétaire d'un salon de coiffure, reçoit un jour une lettre d'amour anonyme (écrite par Jean, son employé chargé de la maintenance). Elle jette la lettre à la poubelle, mais comme sa mère, Maddy, ne se remet toujours pas du départ de son sculpteur de mari quatre ans plus tôt, elle retape la lettre et l'envoie à sa mère. Cette dernière est de bien meilleure humeur, mais désespère de recevoir une nouvelle lettre. Émilie s'exécute donc et elle charge Jean de poster la lettre. Ce dernier, à cours de timbres, décide le la mettre lui-même dans la boite aux lettres de Maddy. Cette dernière le voit et le suit jusqu'au salon de coiffure. Émilie a toutes les peines du monde à empêcher sa mère de sauter au cou de Jean qui ne comprend pas le comportement de Maddy. Émilie explique plus tard à Jean ce qu'elle a fait et lui demande de sortir avec Maddy pour ne pas lui briser le c½ur à nouveau. Jean refuse d'abord, mais Émilie envoie une lettre de rupture à sa mère, ce qui la met en colère contre Jean. Ce dernier veut tout lui expliquer et assiste au coup de téléphone du mari de Maddy lui annonçant son intention de divorcer et de se remarier avec sa compagne qui est enceinte. Jean console alors Maddy et accepte de dîner avec elle au restaurant. Maddy raconte à sa fille commen s'est déroulée la soirée et que Jean a su réciter par c½ur la fin de la première lettre. Émilie comprend alors que Jean en est l'auteur. Ce dernier fait du chantage à Émilie et cette dernière finit par avouer ss machinations à sa mère. Maddy, qui avait invité Jean à dîner chez elle, décide de lui faire croire qu'Émilie ne lui a rien expliqué. Jean quitte finalement la ville. Plusieurs semaines plus tard, Maddy reçoit une invitation au vernissage de l'exposition de son futur ex-mari disant qu'Émilie y serait aussi. Elle envoie l'invitation à Jean en lui faisant croire qu'elle vient d'Émilie. Elle et Jean finissent par s'embrasser, après qu'Émilie lui a assuré que la lettre venait bien d'elle.

© Amazon.fr

Quatorzième volume de Trolls de Troy publié en 2010, ou l'on apprend que Waha est la fille de Rysta Fuquatou et d'une prostituée. Les personnes qui avaient été payées pour emporter l'encombrant bébé au loin ont été mangées par Teträm et sa famille, et cette dernière recueille donc l'enfant qu'elle nomme Waha (à cause de sa manière tonitruante de pleurer). La mère biologique de Waha veut retrouver sa fille pour la faire travailler dans sa maison close et plus tard assurer sa succession à la tête de l'entrerprise. Fuquatou l'emmène jusque chez les trolls (il a retrouvé l'histoire de Waha dans les archives du conservatoire) et l'y laisse de faire dévorer par Teträm et sa famille.

© Amazon.fr

Dix-septième tome de Largo Winch. Le président de la Winch Merchant Fleet est assassiné le jour de son départ à la retraite. Son assistante avait un peu plus tôt enlevé la fille du directeur de la banqui suisse qui conserve l'argent de Largo pour le forcer à effectuer un virement compromettant. Le tueur, un pécheur turc agissant pour venger la mort de son fils, est assassiné peu après. Le FBI tente d'arrêter Largo à cause du virement qui aurait servi à acheter des armes, mais ce dernier s'nfuit en Suisse. Il apprend l'enlèvement de la fille de son banquier et charge Simon d'utiliser ses anciennes connexions avec la pègre suisse pour la retrouver et la délivrer. Pendant ce temps, Largo part enquêter un Turquie, mais est fait prisonnier sur un porte-conteneurs par ses adversaires, encore inconnus. Simon, lui, se fait arrêter par la police suisse à cause de son passé. À suivre.

© Amazon.fr

Vingt-cinquième tome de Yoko Tsuno. Yoko et Emilia découvrent en Écosse une androïde enterré depuis huit-cents ans par des moines qui la considéraient comme la servante de Lucifer. Yoko appelle son amie vinéenne Khâny qui participe sur Terre à une mission de rapatriement de colons Vinéens en hibernation sous Terre. L'androïde est identifiée comme venant de la zone interdite, où des colons vinées belliqueux avaient été parqués. Le seul survivant se faisait passer pour Lucifer auprès des humains et avant envoyé l'androïde en reconnaissance à la surface. Lucifer profite de l'occasion pour tenter de s'échapper mais se fait finalement tuer. La zone interdite est à nouveau scellée.

© Amazon.fr

Vingtième aventure de Blake et Mortimer, faisant suite au tome 1. Blake rejoint Mortimer et, après une tentative ratée d'arrêter l'ancien Nazi, ils partent à la recherche du tombeau de Judas, caché dans la grotte que les anciens grecs prenaient pour l'enfer. Leur ennemi les y attendait déjà, et s'empare des vingt-neuf deniers. À ce moment, Judas se lève de sa tombe, l'ancien Nazi est foudroyé et la grotte s'effondre dans un tremblement de terre provoqué semble-t-il par la colère divine. Nos héros parviennent à s'échapper, mais Olrik en reste prisonnier.

© Amazon.fr

Lourd, comme d'habitude, un peu moins drôle mais avec un supplément d'émotion.

© Amazon.fr

Deuxième tome des Gardiens de Ji par Pierre Grimbert. Les petits enfants des héritiers sont rejoints par Zejabel qui leur apprend que leurs parents sont morts dans l'incendie de leur navire en allant sur l'île Ji pour vérifier si le corps de Sombre était toujours dans son tombeau, après que Ke'b'ree leur ait rencontré un vieillard qu'il a identifié comme étant l'ex-dieu Usul, qui lui avai annoncé que Sombre était de retour avant de disparaître. Zejabel en a réchappé car elle avait quitté le navire peu avant avec la chaloupe. Les six petits-enfants accompagnés de Zejabel et de Souanne la légionnaire décident d'aller sur l'ile Ji pour voir si le tombeau est effectivement vide et dans l'espoir de peut-être retrouver leurs parents. Ils sont à nouveau attaqués par les sorcier et ses hommes mais parviennent à s'enfuir. Lorilis se découvre des pouvoirs magiques, tandis que Guederic et Souanne découvrent leur soif de tuer qu'ils essaient de contrôler. Ils décident d'aller voler les notes d'Amanón concernant les manuscrits Éthèques dans son bureau de la Légion Grise de Lorelia, où ils rencontrent à nouveau leurs adversaires. Les notes sont chiffrées, et Lorilis devine que Damián en détient sans le savoir la clé. Ils se rendent ensuite sur l'île d'Usul où ils rencontrent effectivement l'ancien dieu, qui révèle à Najel (pendant que les autres sont attaqués par des indigènes venus faire un sacrifice humain) que son père est au Jal (qui est censé avoir disparu) et que leur adversaire est en fait Saat le sorcier.

Voldemort is back and threatens Great Britain. Harry is taken out of his uncle's home by his wizard friends and to safety at the Burrow. During the wedding of Bill Weasley and Fleur Delacour the Death Eaters attack and Harry, Hermione and Ron flee. Harry follows the orders of the late Dumbledore i.e., to seek and destroy the horcruxes containing bits of Voldemort's soul. One of those, a locket, had been stolen from the house at Grimmauld's Place by Mundungus Fletcher and forcibly sold to Dolores Umbridge, now collaborating with the Death Eaters who have taken over the Ministry of Magic. In disguise, they infiltrate the Ministry and steal the locket from around Umbridge's neck. They then flee to the countryside. Ron is hurt and needs to rest a lot. Harry and Hermione try to find a way to destroy the locket: the sword of Griffindor would do the job, but it is nowhere to be found. Harry also has visions of Voldemort looking for the Elder Wand, one of the three Deathly Hallows. Because of the evil effect of the locket, Ron becomes jealous of Harry and Hermione and leaves. The other two then go to Godric's Hollow in the hope to meet Bathilda Bagshot who knew the Dumbledore family well, in the hope she can tell them something about the other horecuxes. But Bathilda has already been killed and they barely escape an attack by Voldemort's snake, Nagini. After that, Harry sees a Patronus that leads him to the sword, at the bottom of a frozen pond. Ron reappears at that moment and helps him destroy the locket. They then visit Xenophilius Lovegood, who could tell them about the Deathly Hallows, but since his daughter Luna has been kidnapped by the Death Eaters, he warns them of our three heroes' presence in the hope that Luna will be returned to him in exchange. Harry also has a vision that the Elder Wand is in Dumbledore's grave. They manage to escape but are eventually caught by Snatchers and led to Malfoy's manor. There (and other prisoners: Luna, Ollivander and Griphook) are saved by Dobby, who gets killed in the escape. In the end, Voldemort opens Dumbledore's tomb and takes the Wand.

© Amazon.fr

Third volume of The Baroque Cycle by Neal Stephenson, following The Confusion. Divided into three books, Solomon's Gold, Currency and The System of the World.

Solomon's Gold

1714. Invited by Princess Caroline, Daniel Waterhouse returns to London after twenty years in Massachusets where he founded the Institute for Technologickal Arts. Caroline wants him to mend the philosophical gap between Leibniz, who has been her mentor, and Isaac Newton, currently Master of the Royal Mint. On his way back he meets Newcomen, building an Engine for Litfing Water by Fire and is looking for investors. Soon after Daniel's arrival at the Royal Society, he is injured by an infernal machine, an explosive ignited by clockwork. With the help of a few other people, he starts investigating to find the maker of the bomb. A second bomb destroys a ship being build for Peter the Great, czar of Russia, and the shipwright joins in the investigation. Daniel then visits Newton and learns that he is still looking for the Solomonic gold, which is infused with whatever principle animates the human body. Daniel remembers, from his time on Minerva crossing the ocean, that the ship contained unusual ballast, and soon understands that it is the Gold Isaac is looking for. As a Master of the Mint, Newton also fights coiners, and one of them is especially dificult to locate. While Newton is sent to a wild goose chase, Jack the Coiner invest the tower of London and places fake coins in the Pyx (a strongbox where samples of fresly minted coins are placed) after literally showering fake gold guineas over the city, in order to discredit Newton's work as a Master of the Mint.

Currency

In Hanover, Caroline is targeted by assassins, and with the help of Eliza and her son Johann she flees to London incognito. There she meets Daniel who tries to convince Eliza to invest in his Logic Mill, a prototype of a “thinking machine” that Leibniz had asked him to build. Data is fed to the machine with punched cards made of (solomonic) gold. Peter the Great is another investor in the project, and all the cards are planned to be shipped to Saint Petersburg when they are made. Meanwhile, Daniel also tries to locate artifacts made by Hooke in the early days of the Royal Society to send to the czar who wants to train his philosophers and start his own philosophical society. In the Bedlam asylum, he finds a note by Hooke that proves that he did die whe Hooke performed a lithotomy on him and that he was revived by Enoch the Red who used an alchemical formula transcribed by Hooke on the note. With the help of a thief catcher, Daniel also tries to catch Jack the coiner, who is believed to be the maker of the bombs. The thief catcher is actually Jack in disguise. He escapes Newton but gives to Daniel one of the original coin samples he had taken from the Pyx, which; through complex political mechanisms, destitutes the Tory government, in favour to a catholic king, and replaces it with Whigs who are in favor of the Hanover family. Soon after, Peter the Great arrives incognito in London to receive the ships built for him. He is accompanied by Solomon Kohan, a Jew who forces Daniel to promis to use only Solomonic gold to make the punch cards, and to deliver the whole amount of that gold to the czar. As a gift, he gives Daniel a ring made from some of the punched out bits. The gold is taken out of Minerva's bilge and hidden in the Bank of England.

The System of the World

Jack is finally arrested, and a connection is found between the Tories, the bombs (the target was Newton) and the plan to debase the gold guinea and discredit the Whigs and preven Georg of Hanover to become the next king. Daniel, Eliza and Caroline force Leibniz and Newton to meet and discuss about their philosophical disagreements, but have no success in resolving their differences. Jack, in prison, promises Daniel to return the gold stolen from the Pyx in exchange for the freedom of his two sons (who were his accomplices), whom Daniel manages to help escape from prison. But at the same time Jack tells Newton that Daniel has all the gold, and Daniel has to liquidate his whole Logic Mill operation and ship the gold out in a rush. Newton discovers Daniel's implication in the escape of Jack's sons and has a stroke. Additionally, he suffers from gaol fever and is on the brink of death. He tells Daniel that he has found Enoch's formula from Hooke's descriptions. After the coronation of George II, the trial of the Pyx takes place, the same day as Jack's execution. During the trial of the Pyx, the samples (shards from the coins) being tested are replaced with shards made by Daniel from his ring. Isaac is present, hidden in a sedan chair, but he is actually recently dead. While the trial takes place, Daniel feeds Isaac Enoch's potion, and he wakes up just in time for the end of the trial, which had shown that Isaac's coins are pure gold. At the same time, Jack survives (barely) his hanging and is taken away by the Mobb. During the religious ceremony that preceded, he understand that Enoch the Red is none other than Enoch, son of Cain.

In the epilogues, Jack lives at Versailles with Eliza (who wouldn't set eyes on him until he has died). Jack's sons are in Carolina. Daniel sees Newcomen's engine working, and doesn't expect his logic mill to be built before another century; probably only needs of war will resurrect such a project. Daniel then decides to return home to Massachusets.

“Belgian style Wheat Beer… aromas of coriander and lemon”

Smells like vegetable stock, probably due to the coriander. Not my favourite. Contains barley malt and wheat malt.

Little Valley Brewery, Hebden Bridge, West Yorkshire, England. 4.5% alcohol.

Après plusieurs mois à prendre la poussière, j'ai finalement acheté les composants nécessaires pour construire une version fonctionnelle du compte tour pour circuit auto. Le circuit est le même que celui du prototype, mais l'Arduino Duemilanueve a été remplacé par un RBBB, plus petit et nettement moins cher.

L'interface utilisateur se compose d'un écran LCD (4 lignes de 20 caractères) et trois bouton. Le bouton rouge est relié au reset de l'Arduino. Les bouton noir du milieu sert à choisir l'item suivant dans le menu, et le bouton du bas sert à agir sur l'item sélectionné.

À l'arrière du boitier se trouve un connecteur D-sub à 9 plots récupéré sur une vieille carte mère, où le connecteur du port série était encore relié à la carte par un cable ruban. 4 plots sont utilisés : +5V, 0V, et les signaux venant des pistes 1 et 2.

Le circuit blanc est le RBBB, le brun est morceau de carte à prototyper. Il comporte le potentiomètre pour le contraste de l'écran, et les différentes résistance (pull-down des boutons noirs, limiteur de courant du buzzer). La paire de fils rouge/noir devant à gauche vont au buzzer qui est fixé sur la face avant, derrière un petit trou. Les deux circuits sont fixés par des vis sur le morceau de boitier que j'ai découpé pour laisser passer l'écran, et ce moreceau est vissé sur le fond sur un plot prévu à cet effet.

L'écran LCD est connecté en mode 4bits, et comme le rétro-éclairage contient déjà deux résistance de 10 Ω en parallèle, j'ai pu le brancher directement sur le +5V.

“a black Porter style beer… a blend of malted barley, oats and roasted malts”

A bit flowery smell, slightly sweet taste, otherwise just another ale. Contains malted barley and oats.

Williams Bros Brewing Co., Alloa, Scotland. 5.6% alcohol.

“fruity nose… spicy notes… hoppy finish”

Quite bitter, as always with Shepherd Neame, otherwise nothing special. Contains barley malt.

Shepherd Neame, Faversham, Kent, England. 4.0% alcohol.

Ainekset

• 1.5 dL siirappia
• 1 tl jauhettua neilikkaa
• 2 tl pomeranssinkuorta
• 2 tl jauhettua inkivääriä
• 2 tl jauhettua kanelia
• 50g voita
• 5 dL maitoa
• 80g sokeria
• 30g glukoosia
• 2 dL kuohukermaa
• 5 munankeltuaista
• 3 munanvalkuaista

Valmistaminen

Sekoita siirappi, neilikka, pomeranssinkuori, inkivääri, kaneli ja voi. Kiehauta ja anna jäähtyä.

Vatkaa munankeltuaiset ja sokerit paksuksi vaahdoksi. Kiehauta maito ja kaada se vaahtoon. Sekoita varovasti, kaada takaisin kattilaan ja kuumenna seosta 75 – 80 °C:n lämpötilassa, kunnes se sakeutuu. Kaada sitä vähitellen maustevalmisteeseen ja sekoita. Anna jäähtyä, ja pane yöksi jääkaappiin.

Seuraavana päivänä vatkaa kuohukerma vaahdoksi ja sekoita varovasti maustekermaan. Vatkaa munanvalkuaiset vaahdoksi ja sekoita varovasti maustekermaan. Kaada jäätelökoneeseen.

Kommentit

• Maustekerma on aika voimakkaanmakuinen ja vähän hyytelömäinen. Vähemmän siirappia ja maustetta antaa luultavasti paremman tuloksen.
• Lopputulos on aika nestemäinen jäätelökoneessa.

Wikipedia

See the Watchmen_(film) Wikipedia entry.

“English Fuggles hops, dark malts and smoked malts… aromas of roast coffee, chocolate and vanilla… palate of roast chestnuts, caramel and molasses”

Slightly sweet, slightly bitter, vaguely coffee-ish. Contains malted barley.

Meantime Brewing, London, England. 5.4% alcohol.

I currently found 3 tablet computers running Linux (all have Bluetooth and WiFi, options are between parentheses):

Shogo

10.6", 1024x600, 800g, 3 – 5 hours, Ångström, 500 EUR

ARM FreeScale i.MX-37, 256 MB RAM, 4 GB Flash, Ethernet, (3G), SDHC reader, 1 USB host, 2MPx camera

Hacking: root access with ssh by default

WeTab

11.6", 1366x768, 1000g, 6 hours, Meego, 450(570) EUR

Intel Atom N450, 1 GB RAM, 16(32) GB Flash, (3G+GPS), SDHC reader, 2 USB host, 1.3 MPx camera

Hacking: ?

Archos

10.1", 1024x600, 480g, 10 hours, Android+Ångström, 300(350) EUR

ARM Cortex A8, 256 MB RAM, 8(16) GB Flash, Micro SDHC reader, 1 USB host + 1 slave, 0.3 MPx camera

Hacking: replace Android with Ångström

“traditional Scottish recipe from the 1800s… triple blend of malts…”

Strong, sweet, very malty, almost a taste of dried fruits. Contains malted barley.

Belhaven Brewery Company Ltd., Dunbar, Scotland. 7.0% alcohol.

Quite sweet, tastes kind of like strawberries after eating vineagar chips. Otherwise just another lager. Contains barley malt.

Intoduff S.L., Santiago de Compostela, Spain. 4.7% alcohol.

© tajeunesse.com

Voir Ratatouille_(film) sur Wikipedia.

“brew with Scottish peated whisky malt, English pale ale and roasted malts and boil with onlu whole leaf Goldings hops.Querkus is then cold matured over pieces of old French oak barrels. The flavours from the toasted wood then slowly seep into the beer. Bottle conditioned beer”

Definitely smokey and roasted. Contains barley.

Ridgeway Brewing, South Stoke, Oxfordshire, England. 4.5% alcohol.

Quite flowery, otherwise just another ale. Contains malted barley, wheat.

Lancaster Brewery, Lancaster, England. 4.1% alcohol.

Ingrédients

• 6 oeufs
• 90g sucre
• 20g sucre vanillé
• 30g glucose
• 5 dL lait
• 2 dL crème fluide

Préparation

Séparer les oeufs, conserver les blancs au réfrigérateur. Fouetter les jaunes d'½ufs avec le sucre, le sucre vanillé et le glucose. Faire chauffer le lait et le verser sur le mélange. Laisser épaissir pour en faire une crème anglaise. Laisser refroidir une nuit au réfrigérateur. Fouetter la crème, l'incorporer au mélange, puis incorporer les blancs battus en neige. Passer à la sorbetière.

Commentaires

• La glace n'est pas trop dûre au sortir du congélateur, on peut facilement la servir.

“Crisp with a full bouquet of spices, fruit and floral aromas. Smell: coffee, roasted malt, smoky. Taste: dark chocolate, molasses.”

Quite bitter, too roasted, almost burnt. Contains malted barley, wheat.

Lancaster Brewery, Lancaster, England. 4.6% alcohol.

Ingrédients

• 4 oeufs
• 80g sucre
• 20g glucose
• 5 dL lait
• 2 bananes mûres
• 30g beurre doux
• 2 dL crème fluide

Préparation

Séparer les oeufs, conserver les blancs au réfrigérateur. Fouetter les jaunes d'½ufs avec le sucre et le glucose. Faire chauffer le lait et le verser sur le mélange. Laisser épaissir pour en faire une crème anglaise. Faire frire les bananes au beurre. Les passer au mixer, puis mélanger la crème anglaise peu à peu dans les bananes. Laisser refroidir une nuit au réfrigérateur. Battre les blancs d'½ufs en neige, et en mélanger un tiers à la crème à la banane. Fouetter la crème, l'incorporer au mélange, puis incorporer le reste des blancs. Passer à la sorbetière.

Commentaires

• Très bon goût de banane, au contraire de la plupart des glaces industrielles.
• Trop de blancs d'½ufs, on a l'impression de manger des cristaux. Trois blancs auraient probablement suffit.

© Amazon.fr

Second volume of The Baroque Cycle by Neal Stephenson, following Quicksilver. Divided into two books, Bonanza and Juncto, the volume alternate between one and the other to place the narration in chronological order.

Bonanza

1689. Jack has lost his memory due to syphillitis, but slowly wakes up in Algiers as a galley slave. With some companions they form a Cabal, and plan to rob silver from a spanish ship with the help of their owner who would get a share of it. The theft succeeds, but instead of silver they find gold. They are chased by the Duke of Arcachon who expected to steal this gold for himself (through his privateers). In Cairo, Jack and his companions finally confront the Duke and Jack, knowing the the same man had enslaved Eliza years before, cuts his head off and sents it back to France. The Cabal then flees to India, where Jack stays for some years and meets Enoch Root again. The Cabal uses part of the gold to build a ship, with which they carry wootz steel, silk and spices to Japan, where they exchange it against quicksilver. They then cross the Pacific Ocean toward New Spain where they sell the quicksilver to various silver mines. While a part of the Cabal remains on the ship, sell more quicksilver to silver mines in Peru and cross the Cape Horn, Jack and other members of the Cabal walk through Mexico (and are inbetween arrested by the Inquisition, but manage to get released). They rejoin the crew of the ship, and, since Jack received a letter from Eliza asking him to join her in Qwghlm. The letter was however a forgery, and Jack is made prisoner by the son of the late Duke of Arcachon who wants revenge for his father's death and also wants to recover the gold stolen thirteen years earlier from the spanish ship. Jack also learns he was betrayed by one of his companion, who was himself let to believe that his family suffered a lot because of Jack. The gold is said to come from the mines of King Solomon and have special alchemical properties. Jack claims it was all used for building the ship. D'Arcachon lets the remaining members of the Cabal (several died or quit over the past years) leave with their ship, only to notice that the hull of the ship, under the waterline, is plated with gold. Jack is eventually taken back to France.

Juncto

1689. Eliza's wealth has been stolen by Jean Bart the privateer in the name of the King of France Louis XIV. Eliza knows she has to accept this if she wants to stay away from prison, and she soon starts doing business as usual. She is also invited by the Duke of Arcachon, and eventually recognizes him, from the smell of rotten fish, that he is the one who made her a slave when she was young. She wants to poison him at his birthday party, but on that day, she learns that the Duke had been killed in Cairo by Jack. She is then forced to marry the Duke's son to protect herself. When von Hackelheber learns that the Solomon gold has been stolen by Jack, he believes that Eliza is also behind it, and he kidnaps her son. For revenge, Eliza organizes a transfer of fund from Lyon to Hackelheber's offices in London. Thanks to the help of her friend Jean Bart, Hackelheber's silver is stolen, and the banker is ruined. Eliza also helps Bob Shaftoe, Jack's brother and soldier in the English army, to save the love of his life who is a slave owned by an English lord. Bob kills the lord during a battle, and later goes and frees her, marrying her on the spot. Meanwhile, Daniel Waterhouse manages to convince Newton to become the new head of the Royal Mint. In the end. Jack has arrived in France and meets with Louis XIV who orders him to go back to England and sabotage the Royal Mint to prevent England to become a strong power again. In the same meeting, Jack also meets Eliza, who quickly tells hime they must not see each other again if they want to stay alive. Jack then goes back to London. Also, on her way back from the Rhine in the previous book, Eliza had taken under her protection a German heiress and her daughter Caroline. After the death of the mother, Eliza placed the daughter in the care of Leibniz. Caroline is pressented to become the next queen of England.

© Amazon.fr

First volume of The Baroque Cycle by Neal Stephenson, divided into three books.

Quicksilver

1713. Daniel Waterhouse is convinced by Enoch Root to leave Massachussets and return to England to defuse a conflict between supporters of Leibnitz and those of Newton as who invented calculus. While his ship is under attack by pirates, trying to leave the coasts of Massachusets, Daniel remembers his youth from 1661 to 1673. Daniel has met Isaac Newton at Cambridge and, while Newton was completely absorbed by his research, prevented him from dying by forcing him to eat and sleep. During the Plague, he fled to the countryside where he met members of the Royal Society and studied with them on various topics. Later he returned to Cambridge, became a Doctor and a fellow of the Royal Society. Daniel witnessed or was involeved in several political plots during this period: he was delivering mail from Huygens to Henri Oldenburg, secretary of the Royal Society for foreign correspondonance and prisoner at the Tower of London under suspicion of exchanging by means of these letters secret messages with foreign states; the Comstock family was supplying the English Navy with cannons and powder, and was discredited and ruined after cannons exploded because they were loaded with pre-packed powder that was ground too fine (the bad powder was planted by a political rival); the creation of the Bank of England, independent from the King, after the latter ruined several goldmiths by taking the gold entrusted to them by their customers. In the background, there were wars between England and the Dutch who were allied to France during the first war, but since King Charles II is suspected to be a catholic pretending to be anglican, England was allied to France in the second one.

King of the Vagabonds

1683. Jack Shaftoe is a Vagabond, occupying himself by being a footman in the army of Poland-Lithuania, going to attack the Turks who are assieging Vienna. While all the fighting is done by the cavalry, Jack saves Eliza, a yound Qwghlmian woman who is a slave in the the harem of the Grand Turk. Together they travel through Europe to Leipzig where they meet Leibniz, and eventually arrive in Amsterdam where Eliza shows great skill at investing the stock market. This sedentary life doesn't suit Jack who travels to Paris to deliver a letter from Eliza to a banker. Jack then tries to make money for himself by selling ostrich feathers and his horse, both stolen from the Turks at the siege of Vienna, but is instead taken prisoner by the Duc d'Arcachon. John Churchill, for whom Jack and his brother Bob had been couriers earlier in their life, helps him escape to prevent Jack from inadvertantly telling things about Churchill when being tortured. Jack thus escapes and accidentally discovers that d'Arcachon is the eater of rotten fish who had taken Eliza and her mother as slaves many years ago. Meanwhile, Eliza is introduced to the the court of the King William of Orange by d'Avaux, the French ambassador. With another Englishman, they plot to influence the market and make a lot of money. On his way back to Amsterdam, Jack becomes partner in a business operation, which was promised to make him rich. But when he sees Eliza again and tells her about it, she understands that the operation is a slave trade. Since Jack wants to continue with the operation because he invested all he had in it and doesn't want to depend on Eliza's money, she tells him she doesn't want to see him ever again. Jack's ship leaves Amsterdam, but Jack is made prisoner by pirates near Africa and becomes a slave himself. Eliza leaves for Versailles to become a spy for d'Avaux at the court of King Louis XIV, but on the boat she is convinced by William of Orange, an ennemy of Louis XIV, to become his spy in exchange for the title of Duchess of Qwghlm when he becomes king of England.

Odalisque

1685. Eliza is working as a governess for some noble at Versailles, and reporting to d'Avaux, d'Orange and Leibniz. In London, Daniel Waterhouse witnesses the death of Charles II. The next king is James II, openly a catholic. Since Eliza is handling the money of many French nobles, she becomes slowly more important at the court. She travels from time to time to Amsterdam, where she meets William of Orange and lives at Huygens's house. There she meets Bob Shaftoe who wants her to help him recover a protestant girl he fell in love with and who has been sold as a slave to an English noble, now Chief Justice of the King. In 1687, Daniel travels to Amsterdam to meet William of Orange, the so-called Defender of the Protestants, and prepare what will be later called the Glorious Revolution i.e., William of Orange becoming King of England without bloodshed. Daniel also meets Eliza during a dinner at Huygens's house. The next morning they prevent the abduction of William by French dragoons, a plot that was rumored about in various circles. Back to Versailles, Eliza is made Countess de la Zeur by the King. Daniel on the other hand is threatened by catholic nobles (including the Chief Justice) and eventually made prisoner at the Tower of London and awaiting to be assassinated (since he cannot officially be tried). But Daniel is protected by Bob Shaftoe, who happens to replace the guard at the Tower. Meanwhile, Eliza is fleeing Versailles with the help of Liselotte von der Pfalz, sister in law to Louis XIV, motivated by the fact that the king is invading her country. After being arrested by French troops in Lorraine, Eliza sleeps with the son of d'Arcachon who is leading those troops and eventually reaches Amsterdam and Hyugens's house. The story of her journey is known to Louis XIV because Eliza kept an enciphered diary which was stolen a Huygens's house and decrypted by Bonaventure Rossignol, cryptanalyst of the king. In 1688, James II flees London and William of Orange becomes the new King of England. Daniel and Bob get the Chief Justice, who also fled from London, to get lynched by a crowd for the exactions he had commited on the people many years earlier. Finally, Eliza gives birth to a son in Amsterdam. D'Arcachon believes the baby is his (and since d'Arcachon carries a genetic defect, he is eager to get his hands on a son that hasn't got this defect) and tries to steal it but fails. But in a letter to Leibniz, Eliza tells that the father is really Rossignol, whom she had met in Versailles and happened to be in Lorraine while she was there.

Wikipedia

In the desert in Qatar, US troops are attacked by a helicopter that transformed into a robot. Later, they are attacked again by a scorpion-shaped robot. Meanwhile Sam, a teenager, gets a used car from his father. But the car is stolen one night and he follows it on a bicycle. He sees the car transform into a robot. The police of course doesn't believe him. Later, he is chased by a police car that transforms as well, and he is saved by his car. He soon meets the five Autobots who explain they are looking for glasses that had belonged to his great-grandfather and that he was trying to sell on EBay. The man had discovered a frozen robot in the arctic (Megatron, the leader of the Decepticons) and information about the location of the Spark, an energy cube, got engraved in the lenses of the glasses. If the Decepticons manage to find the cube first, they will use it to turn the machines to robots (that's the power of the cube) and wipe out life from Earth. The Autobots are here to prevent that from happening. Sam later gets arrested by a secret government organization and taken to a facility where Megatron has been kept frozen for the past eighty years; the cube had been discovered as well, and the facility built around it. But the other Decepticons cut the power to let their leader thaw, and the people have to flee. They hope to hide the cube (which has been conveniently reduced in size and mass by Sam's Autobot) in the nearest city. A large battle takes place. The cube is eventually destroyed, provoking the death of Megatron. The Autobots have no hope of using it to revive their planet, and decide to stay on Earth, hiding.

Wikipedia

Frank transports things and people in his car, no questions asked. One day, he discovers that the bag he is transporting contains a bound and gagged woman. He delivers her, but his client tries to kill him. He returns to the house of his client to take his revenge but the main villain is absent from the house. Frank then escapes with the the woman and takes her to his place. She manipulates him into helping her save asiatic people soon to arrive in a container in Marseille, to be sold as slaves. After the client tried to kill them again, Frank decides to help the woman and they go the client's office, but Frank eventually gets arrested. But the policeman is quite friendly and recognizes the fact that Frank could save those people much faster than the police could. After a long car chase, he eventually saves the prisoners.

“When Nelson was killed at Trafalgar, his body was preserved in a cask of brandy during the long trip back to England. Legend has it that thirsty sailors snuck drinks from the brandy cask carrying Nelson's corpse. This gave rise to the phrase fo illicit drinking: Tapping the Admiral. Smell: toffee, spicy, roast; Taste: brandy, sweet, rich”

Strong hoppy smell, quite bitter, but less than other beers from the same brewery. Contains barley malt.

Shepherd Neame, Faversham, Kent, England. 4.0% alcohol.

Ingrédients

• 200g chocolat noir 70%
• 40g glucose
• 50g sucre en poudre
• 5 jaunes d'½ufs
• 5 dL lait
• 2g gomme xanthane
• 2g gomme de guar
• 1 c. à soupe de sirop à l'anis
• 2 dL crème fluide
• 5 blancs d'½ufs

Préparation

Fouetter les jaune avec le sucre jusqu'à ce qu'ils blanchissent. Faire bouillir le lait. Mélanger le glucose avec la gomme xanthane et la gomme de guar. Verser dans le lait et mixer. Verser le lait chaud sur les ½ufs. Remuer, faire épaissir sur le feu comme une crème anglaise. Faire fondre le chocolat. Y ajouter la crème peu à peu, puis y ajouter le sirop à l'anis. Laisser une nuit au réfirgérateur. Fouetter les blancs en neige. Fouetter la crème fluide. Mélanger un tiers des blancs dans la crème au chocolat. Y incorporer la crème fouttée, puis incorporer le reste des blancs. puisse passer à la sorbetière.

Remarques

• La crème devient très épaisse, comme une crème patissière. La moitié de chaque gomme aurait probablement suffit. Après l'ajout de la crème et de blancs, la préparation est cependant assez fluide pour être versée dans la sorbetière.
• Le double de sirop à l'anis aurait probablement donné un goût plus prononcé d'anis (qui est vraiment subitl dans cette recette).
• Les blancs en neige donnent une belle consistance à la glace.

Wikipedia

After the death of their parents in the fire of their mansion, Violet, Klaus and Sunny Baudelaire are given to the care of their remote cousin Count Olaf. The latter is an actor who only hopes to get his hands on their money as soon as he is declared their legal guardian. When Olaf tries to kill them (by being run over by a train), they are given to the care of their uncle Montgomery Montgomery, a very nice herpetologist. But Olaf appears as a replacement for Montgomery's assistant, and the scientist refuses to belive the children's experience about Olaf. The next morning, he is found dead, and Olaf's plot is eventually exposed. The children are then given to the care of their aunt Josephine, who is afraid of very many things. They meet Olaf, disguised as an old sailor, and again she refuses to listen to the children. She is forced to write a suicide note, but manages to hide a secret message in it, telling she is hiding in a cave on the shore of the lake. The children meet her there, but they meet again Olaf on the lake, and he kills aunt Josephine while pretending to save Klause from drowning. He is then given again the custody of the three children. Olaf then organizes a theatre play where he is marrying Violet in order to legally access her inheritance, threatening to kill Sunny if she refuses to play along. Since he cast a real Justice of the Peace as the one presiding over the ceremony, Violet and him are legally married. But Klaus, while rescuing Sunny, discovers the apparatus, made of lenses, that Olaf had used to set fire to the Baudelaire mansion, and uses it to burn the wedding contract. Olaf is tried, but freed on appeal and disappears. The children are sent to new guardians.

Wikipedia

Sherlock Holmes is a fictional character created by Dr. John Watson to allow him to solve crimes incognito. Holmes, actually actor Reginald Kincaid, is fired by Watson who is jealous by the character's success with the public. But when printing plates for 5 £ notes are stolen, Watson recalls Holmes and starts investigating. A printing engineer, Peter Giles, disappeared at the same time as the plates. A series of planted clues leads the police to believe that he drowned in a lake while presumably fleeing from the police, but Watson notices traces of a kidnapping and soon follows the trail of Moriarty, accompanied by Giles' daughter Leslie. Watson however drowns in the river Thames while trying to board Moriary's boat. Holmes tries to solve the puzzle himself, since he promised to the Chancellor of the Exchequer, but fails. Then, a banknote printed only on one side is found by one of the Baker Streets Irregulars. The note's serial number is 234 (instead of the usual six digits), which Holmes, knowing Giles' favourite book is the Book of Psalms, deduces the printer is hold prisoner in the Orpheus theater, where “The Valley of the Shadow” was last played before it closed. They find the lair, and also Watson who had actually faked his death. They also discover that Leslie Giles is an accomplice of Moriarty, and not actually Giles' daughter (whose child, Leslie, is a transvestite boy). The old theatre eventually explodes, destroying the fake banknotes and presumably Moriarty as well. Watson is eventulally reconciled with Holmes.

Wikipedia

Nicholas Angel is a very efficient police officer in London. So efficient that he makes his colleagues look bad. He's then promoted sergeant in Sandford, a peaceful village in Gloucestershire. However, a series of “accidents” happen soon after he arrives: two amateur actors are killed in a car accident, a man dies in the gas explosion of his kitchen, the local journalist is killed just before he can make revelations to Angel. But nobody wants to believe they are murders. When the florist is murdered almost in front of him, Angel chases the robed and hooded person who killed her, but doesn't catch him. Angel then starts to investigate, and finds the connection between all the victims: a complex scheme involving the florist's land which would become very valuable when the main road will be reaching it, which would allow the manager of the local supermarket to expand profitably his business. Angel confronts him, but he has a strong alibi. Angel is later attacked in his hotel room by another hooded figure, who happens to be and employee at the supermarket and he then understands that all the members of the Neighbourhood Watch Alliance are involved. The chief of the police, also part of the conspiracy, explains that his wife committed suicide twenty years ago when, after working very hard to earn Sandford the title of “Village of the Year”, a group of travellers came and destroyed her work. Since then, the Alliance has murdered anyone who would tarnish the image of the village. Angel's colleague and friend Danny fakes his death to help him escape. Angel then comes back and with Danny quickly clean the town of the members of the Alliance in a long gunfight. Danny is eventually promoted to sergeant and Angel becomes the new chief of the police.

wikipedia

After the bombing of their town during World War II, Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy are sent by their mother to a safer place in the country side, at a professor's manor. While playing hide-and-seek, Lucy discovers a wardrobe in an empty room. The back of the wardrobe opens to Narnia, a parallel world. She meets a faun who at first tries to kidnap her and deliver her to the White Witch, who had taken over Narnia a hundred years ago. But the faun decides to let her go after all. Back into the real world, she notices that no time has passed there. Her brothers and sister at first don't believe her, but one night Edmund follows Lucy as she goes back to Narnia. Edmund meets the White Witch by accident, and she convinces him to bring his brother and sisters to her. The four children return to Narnia together, and find that the faun has been arrested. They then meet a couple of talking beavers who tell them that the White Witch is evil, and that according to the prophecy, they are to become the kings and queens of the four kingdoms and end the Witch's reign. Edmund doesn't want to believe that the Witch is evil and leaves on his own to meet her. He soon realizes that she actually is evil, but it's too late. Meanwhile, the other three children, led by the beavers, are trying to rejoin Aslan's army, who is about the fight the Witch. They eventually reach their goal and discover that Aslan is a large talking lion. Soon after the Witch arrives to parley with Aslan and announce that Edmund being a traitor, he must die on the Stone Table. Aslan manages to exchange his life against Edmund's, and he dies on the Stone Table. But on the next morning he resurrects because the Table wouldn't let anyone die who hasn't committed a fault. The armies of the Witch and the one of Aslan, led by Peter since Aslan is believed to be dead, fight each other, and eventually Aslan's army wins. The four children are crowned kings and queens, and stay in Narnia for fifteen years. One day, they find the way back to the wardrobe by accident and decide to go home. Later, Lucy enters the wardrobe again, but the passage to Narnia is closed. The professor tells her that he had been trying for years to go back, but that they will go back when they least expect to.

“session strengh ale… flowery and fresh, with very well developed hop characteristics”

Smells a bit like oranges. Tastes terrible after eating a piece of Gruyère. Contains malted barley.

Fuller, Smith & Turner, London, England. 3.5% alcohol.

Ingrédients

• 25cL sirop à l'anis (environ 75g sucre/100 mL)
• 30cL eau
• 1g agar-agar

Préparation

Faire bouillir l'eau, y ajouter l'agar, bien mélanger. Ajouter le sirop, mélanger. Laisser refroidir quelques heures au réfrigérateur, passer à la sorbetière.

Commentaires

• J'ai pas assez mélangé l'agar, la préparation a fait des « morceaux », mais après le passage à la sorbetière on ne remarque rien.

Wikipedia

1916. The death of a British officer is faked. The man is then sent to Switzerland, as Richard Ashenden, along with “the General”, a professional assasssin, to kill a German spy. Elsa Carrington, also a British agent, poses as Ashenden's wife. Before Ashenden's arrival, Elsa is already being seduced by Robert Marvin, but nothing happens. Ashenden's first contact is found strangled, and a clue leads to a man named Caypor, whom the General murders during a hike in the mountains. When they learned from their superior that he's the wrong man, Ashenden and Elsa want to resign. But the General accidentally discovers that a chocolate factory is used as a secret post office for German spies. During their visit of the factory, they barely escape the Swiss police, but learn that the spy is actually Marvin. Elsa however, is disappointed by Ashenden's sudden renewed interest in the mission. She decides to leave Marvin to Greece. Ashenden and the General rejoin Elsa at the train station and find out that Marvin is actually leaving to Constantinople. They board the same train, which soon enters Germany. A confrontation takes place in Marvin's compartment while British airplanes attack the train. Elsa doesn't want the General to kill Marvin and interposes hersel just as a bomb derails the train. Marvin and the General get killed, but Ashden and Elsa survive and finally quit the Intelligence Service.