God is a hoax.

"God" was a hoax !

Religions use it and other stone age superstitions like "life after death".

brm v16 sound

http://www.adamyeadon.co.uk/brm/index.php

Racing enthusiasts will remember the sound of the BRM V16 long after memories of modern racing cars have faded - the pitch and sheer volume of its 16-cylinder scream, which reputedly distracted seasoned drivers in cars alongside on grids in the 1950s, has never been matched.

Spectrum analyser info

http://www.abc.net.au/rn/science/ss/stories/s1581469.htm
http://www.spectrumsquare.com/index.htm

http://www.geo.arizona.edu/xtal/group/index.htm

calendar for Rhone Alpes

http://www.discoverfrance.net/France/Provinces/Rhone-Alpes_events.shtml

calendar for Rhone Alpes

enfin aussi !

Events and festivals in June

Amiens, the Cathedral in Colors <http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/XJ&sdn=gofrance&zu=http%3A%2F%2Fus.franceguide.com%2Fthematiques%2Ffetemanifs%2Ffiche.asp%3Fz1%3DGA9E3sD2%26amp%3Bidm%3D27466>, a nighttime light show that projects colors onto the Amiens Cathedral.

Sculptures in the Sand Festival <http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/XJ&sdn=gofrance&zu=http%3A%2F%2Fus.franceguide.com%2Fthematiques%2Ffetemanifs%2Ffiche.asp%3Fz1%3D7KmsTQZ6%26amp%3Bidm%3D27620> in Cap d'Agde.

Festival of Water <http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/XJ&sdn=gofrance&zu=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chartres-tourisme.com%2Fpages%2Fen%2Fpage.php%3Fid_espace%3D3%26id_rubrique%3D16%26amp%3Bid_sous_rubrique%3D91> in Chartres, a free festival featuring lights on the Eure River.

Joan of Arc Festival <http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/XJ&sdn=gofrance&zu=http%3A%2F%2Fus.franceguide.com%2Fthematiques%2Ffetemanifs%2Ffiche.asp%3Fz1%3D7KmsTQZ6%26amp%3Bidm%3D27264> in Reims.

Paris Air Show <http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/XJ&sdn=gofrance&zu=http%3A%2F%2Fus.franceguide.com%2Fthematiques%2Ffetemanifs%2Ffiche.asp%3Fz1%3D7KmsTQZ6%26amp%3Bidm%3D26809>

Rio Loco <http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/XJ&sdn=gofrance&zu=http%3A%2F%2Fus.franceguide.com%2Fthematiques%2Ffetemanifs%2Ffiche.asp%3Fz1%3D7KmsTQZ6%26amp%3Bidm%3D27678> in Toulouse.

Le Mans 24-Hour Race <http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/XJ&sdn=gofrance&zu=http%3A%2F%2Fus.franceguide.com%2Fthematiques%2Ffetemanifs%2Ffiche.asp%3Fz1%3D7KmsTQZ6%26amp%3Bidm%3D27213>

Vinexpo <http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/XJ&sdn=gofrance&zu=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.vinexpo.fr%2F>, an international wine and spirits expo in Bordeaux.

Cycling Festival <http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/XJ&sdn=gofrance&zu=http%3A%2F%2Fus.franceguide.com%2Fthematiques%2Ffetemanifs%2Ffiche.asp%3Fz1%3D7KmsTQZ6%26amp%3Bidm%3D27407> in Anjou.

Enghien Jazz Festival <http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/XJ&sdn=gofrance&zu=http%3A%2F%2Fus.franceguide.com%2Fthematiques%2Ffetemanifs%2Ffiche.asp%3Fz1%3D7KmsTQZ6%26amp%3Bidm%3D27616> in Enghien-les-Bains.

enfin !

http://www.francefestivals.com/

Events and festivals/What to do in May

Cannes Film Festival <http://gofrance.about.com/cs/filmfestival/a/cannesfestival.htm> in Cannes

Mother's Day, or Fetes des Meres <http://gofrance.about.com/cs/festivals/a/mothersday.htm>

Museums by Night <http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/XJ&sdn=gofrance&zu=http%3A%2F%2Fus.franceguide.com%2Fthematiques%2Ffetemanifs%2Ffiche.asp%3Fz1%3DM3GOqrn7%26amp%3Bidm%3D27836>, on May 20, a single day in which museums throughout France can be visited for free from sunset until 1 a.m.

Sea Festival <http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/XJ&sdn=gofrance&zu=http%3A%2F%2Fus.franceguide.com%2Fthematiques%2Ffetemanifs%2Ffiche.asp%3Fz1%3DM3GOqrn7%26amp%3Bidm%3D28014> in Mimizan

Pentecost Ferias, or Bullfights <http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/XJ&sdn=gofrance&zu=http%3A%2F%2Fus.franceguide.com%2Fthematiques%2Ffetemanifs%2Ffiche.asp%3Fz1%3DM3GOqrn7%26amp%3Bidm%3D28209> in Nimes

International Band Festival <http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/XJ&sdn=gofrance&zu=http%3A%2F%2Fus.franceguide.com%2Fthematiques%2Ffetemanifs%2Ffiche.asp%3Fz1%3DM3GOqrn7%26amp%3Bidm%3D28121>, featuring 48 hours of music, in Condom

International Jazz-sur-Vie Festival <http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/XJ&sdn=gofrance&zu=http%3A%2F%2Fus.franceguide.com%2Fthematiques%2Ffetemanifs%2Ffiche.asp%3Fz1%3DM3GOqrn7%26amp%3Bidm%3D27922> in Saint-Gilles-Croix-de-Vie

Medieval Festival <http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/XJ&sdn=gofrance&zu=http%3A%2F%2Fus.franceguide.com%2Fthematiques%2Ffetemanifs%2Ffiche.asp%3Fz1%3DM3GOqrn7%26amp%3Bidm%3D28228> in Sedan at Europe's largest castle

Chocolate Days <http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/XJ&sdn=gofrance&zu=http%3A%2F%2Fus.franceguide.com%2Fthematiques%2Ffetemanifs%2Ffiche.asp%3Fz1%3DM3GOqrn7%26amp%3Bidm%3D27836>, held where France's chocolate industry was born when Jews fled to this city of Bayonne

5th Monaco Historic Grand Prix

http://www.acm.mc/gphm/gphm_main.php
The 5th Monaco Historic Grand Prix will undoubtedly be the automobile event of 2006 most eagerly awaited by collectors around the world. It takes place on the 20th and 21st May 2006.

The race precedes the 64th Grand Prix Automobile de Monaco, whose trials start on 25th May 2006.

This unmissable event in the historic race calendar, commemorates Monaco´s golden age of racing, and runs on the famous Grand Prix Formula One track.

It is held every two years by the Automobile Club de Monaco. This year 7 series will race:
Race A - Pre 1947 voiturettes and Grand Prix cars.
Race B - Pre 1961 front engined Grand Prix cars.
Race C - Pre 1953 Sports and sports prototypes car.
Race D - Rear engined Formula Junior Cars.
Race E - Pre 1966 rear engined Formula 1 Grand prix cars.
Race F - Pre 1975 Formula One 3-liters unsupercharged

Due to the exceptionally high number of racing applications this year, the Race Organising Committee of the Automobile Club decided to cater to the additional demand by putting on one additional race:

Race G - Formula One 3 liters unsupercharged from 1975 to the end of 1978

All practice sessions will run on Saturday 20th May and the races will be held on 21st May - 10 laps for categories A, B, C, D and E and 15 laps for series F and G.

Monaco Grand Prix

http://www.visitmonaco.com
Grand Prix
May 28 - June 1

france linx

http://www.francemonthly.com/
http://gofrance.about.com/
http://au.franceguide.com/
http://www.francetourism.com/
http://www.alltravelfrance.com/France/Destination_Guides/Regions/The_Alps.htm
http://www.france.com/
http://www.francekeys.com/english/index.shtml

Sharia/Papal law

Sharia/Papal law
Australia has no place for Sharia/Papal law: Costello

In comments this week that followed attacks on the Christian
minister Abbott's attempt to impose Papal Law on abortion in Australia,
Costello extended his comments to include religious fanatics that want
Sharia law imposed on Australian citizens.

Australians value freedom, and many come from a migrant base that has escaped
from past religious or nationalistic excesses in other countries and are justifiably afraid of religious extremism.

Evangelical religionists of whatever faith are the tools of tyranny,
with their devout wishes to impose their illogical, irrational and unreasonable rituals on others.

Costello's comments merely underline the victory for reasonableness in the RU486 vs Christian Papal Law debates in the Senate and House of Representatives last week.

There should be no place in a free society for Christian Extremists or Muslim Extremists, whether they fly a "Family First" motto, or a "Jihad" motto, both are camouflage.

Ironic - a free society cannot tolerate those who would destroy that freedom.

Windschuttle , writing for "The Australian" concluded: "Howard's comments may signify that a line has finally been drawn in the Western political mentality."
-Whats this "WESTERN" stuff Windschuttle ??? Are we playing cowboys and indians ?
Austrlaia is on the Southern half of the planet, and Howard is on the Eastern side of the continent... Don't use a politician's comments to push a racist agenda, or divide the world using convenient religious boundaries. Howard says that Australia is a secular country, and it contains victims of all religions.

reciprocal links

Reciprocal links
seychellestrip.blogspot.com
and
lefrancophile.blogspot.com

The Rational Disclaimer:

The Rational Disclaimer:
See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Logical_fallacy
If I make a statement that can be interpreted in more than one way,
please choose the interpretation that makes the most sense. That is
the meaning I most likely intended. One can always find
an extreme interpretation that makes someone's words false.
If someone say, "x is y" without employing a universal quantifier,
don't assume it. "X is y" is shorthand, and can mean a lot of
different things. If someone says, "Blacks suffer from sickle cell
anemia," that does not mean that ALL blacks suffer from sickle cell
anemia or even that most blacks suffer from sickle cell anemia.
So, if I have not used the word "all" or "each and every" please do
not insert it yourself to make an absolute statement that is false.
This is a cowardly disingenuous tactic used by those don't care
about the truth

***DO NOT*** attribute to me any position that cannot
be deduced from my words using ***FORMAL*** logic. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Logic
If you make implications from my words that ***FORMAL*** logic does
not justify, you are most likely creating a strawman position.
This is a cowardly disingenuous tactic used by those don't care
about the truth. Don't make illogical implications.

Please do not paraphrase me, and then say the paraphrased
words are incorrect, implying that what I said is incorrect. If
you are going to say I am wrong, quote me ***exactly.*** I choose
my words with mathematical precision. If you change a word,
you change meaning. DON'T CHANGE MY WORDS, then
attribute these changed words to me, and claim them to be
false. Twisting and distorting another person's words is a
cowardly disingenuous tactic used by those don't care about
the truth.
Don't confuse or interchange words like "male" and "masculine,"
or "female" and "feminine."

DON'T MAKE UNFOUNDED ASSUMPTIONS.

DON'T REFUTE THAT WHICH HAS NOT BEEN ADVANCED.
This is a switch and bait tactic. If someone says "x is y,"
don't respond by saying, "z is not y," if "z" is not being discussed.

Just because "z" is not "y" does not mean that "x" can't be "y."
This is another cowardly disingenuous tactic used by those who
don't care about the truth to change the topic.
If you transgress, I will specify your transgression and hold it up
for all to see.

We need to differentiate and make subtle distinctions.
Generalizations apply to classes and groups, they do not
necessarily apply to individual members of a group.
We need to use generalizations correctly.

Do not insert the universal quantifier when it is not present in
the original text.

Fossil Crab

Fossil crab found on sandbar exposed at low tide in Maroochy River,
after heavy tidal action, January 2006.

Mudskippers

Today I observed a pair of mudskippers below my balcony around rocks on the sand at low tide. I will attempt to identify the species, they were about 5cm, fast, at first I thought they were lizards.
They are probably the Blue Mudhopper, Scartelaos Histophorus.
http://www.fishbase.org/summary/SpeciesSummary.php?id=7487

There are mangroves across the river.

Presbyopia

Presbyopia
Age related eye sight degeneration - the "arms length" syndrome.

le francophile

Are you from France ?
Are you French ?
Do you speak French ?

Birds of Maroochy River Estuary

These birds have been observed over a 12 month period on and around Goat Island in the Maroochy River mouth.
Identification references were the excellent "Field Guide to the Birds of Australia." by Simpson and Day, and the trusty Slater's guide.

Brahminy Kite
Osprey
Forest Kingfisher
Brownie honeyeater
Seagulls
Pelicans
White Faced Heron
Great Egret
Little Black Cormorant
Pied Cormorant
Little Tern
Tern
Pacific Black Duck
Crow
Black Backed Magpie
Rainbow Lorikeet
Bush Turkey
Swallow
Marten
Black Cockatoo
Corella
Beach Stone Curlew
Nankeen (night) Heron
Friarbird
Blue Eyed Honeyeater
Oystercatcher
Indian Myna (1 once)
Sparrow
Bucherbird
Wagtail
Ibis
Sandpiper
Eastern Curlew
Black Swan
Mudlark
Black Bittern ?
Black Winged Stilt

Many smaller seabirds like sandpipers and terns and migratory/seasonal visitors.

le francophile: le francophile

le francophile: le francophile

test the tidecam at
http://home.bigblue.net.au/pense/tidecam/tidecam.jpg

backpack

http://lefrancophile.backpackit.com/

Backpack

check out backpack !
http://backpackit.com/examples/

Wolverines victorious again

Another trivia win for newcomers
"Wolverines".

A beer and a nice bottle of red was consumed, ($30)
and another $50 won, $10 spent on fish and chips makes the
kitty balance is now $100...

$160 won all up in 3 weeks.

sites

http://www.atheistfoundation.org.au/aboutus.htm
http://www.cafepress.com/cp/customize/

Unitarian Jihad.

My Unitarian Jihad Name is:
The Dagger of Sweet Reason.

Get yours.

Pockets of reasonableness and harmony will appear as if
from nowhere! Nice people will run the government again! There will be
coffee and cookies in the Gandhi Room after the revolution.
Startling new underground group spreads lack of panic! Citizens declare
themselves "relatively unafraid" of threats of undeclared rationality.
People can still go to France, terrorist leader says.

Wolverines place 2nd

Wolverines come Second !

In a shocking second place round,
the Wolverines are left with $90 in the kitty,
after $20 was drunk this round..

Very fast presenter, and pay more attention to double up options -
go showbiz and geography.

That makes 3 entries in the $5000 cash draw..

Sambatucada!

("Whoever doesn't like samba
is not a good person
they're either sick in the head
or lame in the feet.")

Le compteurgéographique du web!

http://www.geo-loc.com/

Bonnie Bailey - Safe (Eric Kupper Mix)

The Hed Kandi version is great - gets me moving..

EVER AFTER

--------------------------------------------

Three years ago, my journey began
Chasing down this cure, no plan in hand
Just your pulse, my racing guide in the dark
Just knowing with conviction from the start

The moment your eyes made an introduction
I felt my second violent breath of life
Flawless to the point of being godly
Yet I fell hard for your imperfections

And now we're slightly weathered, we're slightly worn
Our hands grip together, eye to eye through the storm, yet
I still believe in ever after with you, yeahhhhh
Cuz life is a pleasure with you by my side,
And there ain't no current in this river we can't ride
I still believe in ever after with you

Nothing compares to the good times
Feels like we're floating, when the rest have to climb
You made me believe in love, and not the perfect kind
A real messy beautiful twisted sunshine

Emotions, volcanic eruptions
We both still care, so we're still alive
Tunnel vision, determination
I want you, I want to make it right

And now we're slightly weathered, we're slightly worn
Our hands grip together, eye to eye through the storm, yet
I still believe in ever after with you, yeahhhhh
Cuz life is a pleasure with you by my side,
And there ain't no current in this river we can't ride
I still believe in ever after with you

You are my twisted sunshine
You are my twisted sunshine

And now we're slightly weathered, we're slightly worn
Our hands grip together, eye to eye through the storm, yet
I still believe in ever after with you, yeahhhhh
Cuz life is a pleasure with you by my side,
And there ain't no current in this river we can't ride
I still believe in ever after with you

And now we're slightly weathered, we're slightly worn
Our hands grip together, eye to eye through the storm, yet
I still believe in ever after with you, yeahhhhh
Cuz life is a pleasure with you by my side,
And there ain't no current in this river we can't ride
I still believe in ever after with you

more on hodoul

http://cause.curtin.edu.au/curtin/centre/ioc/revjunex.htm
http://www.curtin.edu.au/curtin/centre/ioc/iore296.htm

JEAN FRANCOIS HODOUL - CORSAIR OF THE SEYCHELLES

by

Shaun and Patricia Mitchell

To the European countries of the late seventeenth and early eighteenth
centuries, the Indian Ocean was a little known and unimportant expanse,
except that it was part of the highway to the Orient for those nations,
especially the Portuguese, Spanish and Dutch, whose trading vessels
sailed these largely uncharted waters. The absence of any strong
maritime power in the area, the rich pickings of treasure ships, and the
lesser but easier prey of the smaller vessels owned by Arabs and
Indians, no doubt coupled with natural beauty of the sunny Indian Ocean
islands, was a lure for a collection of European pirates from many
nations, who were attracted to be area, owing allegiance only to each
other and to pirate state that was formed in Madagascar.

As the importance of the trade with the Orient grew, European maritime
nations sought to establish their own settlements on the trade routes to
supply and protect their merchantmen. Dutch settlement in the Mascarenes
failed, and the French, originally settled in Madagascar, moved to these
islands when their Port Dauphine settlement was razed by the Malagache.
Major French maritime settlements were firmly established at Ile Bourbon
(Reunion) and Ile de France (Mauritius), and from there settlers moved
to the Seychelles. The Ile de France quickly became the major French
settlement in the Indian Ocean.

The establishment of a major European maritime power in the southwest
Indian Ocean meant an end to the freebooting pirates who had treated the
area as their own. One by one the pirates retired, or were captured and
executed. Mounting the gallows, one of the most notorious, La Buze, is
said to have thrown a detailed but coded treasure map to the spectators,
inviting whoever could decode it to claim his treasure. This now almost
priceless treasure, including booty captured with a Portuguese Bishop
from Goa, is believed to be still buried on a rocky point at Bel Ombre,
on the island of Mahe in the Seychelles.

With the French Navy severely weakened by the excesses of the French
Revolution in 1789, the scene was set for another page in France’s naval
history. At sea, their navy was no longer a match for their rival,
Britain, and French fleets were drubbed in succeeding engagements. But a
new French naval force was in the making with the granting by the
government of lettres de marque to civilian merchantmen, permitting them
to arm their own fighting ships and set out to capture whatever ‘enemy’
prizes they could, with the resulting shared according to a set formula
by the country, the owners and the crew. These corsairs were, then
different to the earlier pirates as they were essentially an extension
of the government’s own fleet, although not a part of the naval service.
The concept was not new, and was in fact adopted also in Britain and in
the Americas, but the French corsairs were probably better known and
generally better organised.

Operating out of St Malo on the western French coast, corsair
depredation seriously affected British and other European vessels
indulging in local commerce.Although the St Malo corsairs were perhaps
better known, being closer to what was seen as the centre of maritime
communications, in fact in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth
centuries, the French corsairs in the Indian Ocean, operating mainly
from Mauritius, did far more damage to British shipping, and
considerably exceeded the exploits of their Malo cousins in both the
number of vessels captured and the value of the prizes taken. A very
lucrative trade was established in Mauritius selling, particularly to
American merchants, both the captured vessels and their cargo.

Corsair activities in the Indian Ocean can be divided into those before
the 1802 Treaty of Amiens, and those after that date and until the
British captured the Mascarenes in 1810. In the first period, one of the
most notable of the French corsairs was Jean Francois Hodoul, although
his subsequent notoriety as a corsair was diminished by his decision to
settle ashore after the Treaty of Amiens, in that period when the
reputations of so many corsair captains were made.

Jean Francois Hodoul, unlike most of his contemporaries, was not a
Malouin. He came, in fact, from the small fishing port of La Ciotat in
the Bouches du Rhone, Provence. Nor were his immediate forebears sea
men. His father, Raymond Hodoul was the local pork butcher, with a shop
on Rue Lingue (now Rue des Poilus), near the church and about 200 metres
from the sea wall. His mother was Genevieve Cauvin, whose father
apparently operated the baker’s shop just around the corner. Today, in
La Ciotat, the bakery is no more. On the site of the Cauvin mill,
several blocks away, is a small apartment, possibly in some of the
original buildings, but the Hodoul boulangerie is still a boulangerie,
upmarket and now run by the Femel family who are were aware that a
boulangerie had existed on that site for centuries, but knew nothing of
its very early owners.

Jean Francois Hodoul was born at La Ciotat in 1765. Very little is known
of his early days, except that he is believed to have gone to sea as a
young boy, and possibly to have studies with a local maritime
institution, from which he received his certificate of captaincy.

On 27th August 1789, the young Hodoul arrived in Mauritius aboard Le
Scipion under Captain Merie. Here, like most of his contemporaries, he
participated in the slave trade, transporting slaves from Madagascar and
the East African coast to the plantations in Mauritius. He was able to
buy his own vessel, the Olivette (perhaps named for the young
Mauritienne who would shortly be his wife) and he was at Seychelles when
a British squadron under Captain Newcome entered the main harbour of
Mahe on 16th May 1794 and, for the first time, took possession of the
French island for the British crown. Newcome treated the colonists
fairly, but took the Olivette as a prize. Notwithstanding this loss,
Hodoul married the sixteen year old Marie Corantine Olivette Jorre de St
Jorre, Mauritian-born daughter of a local planter, three weeks later, on
8th June 1794.

In 1796, Hodoul was serving as an ensign under Legard on the corsair
Enterprise out of Mauritius, although he shortly moved to the corsair
Pichegrue under Captain Perraud. It is on record that he was involved in
a French raid on the British factory at Vizagapatnam the east coast of
India, and in fact sailed the British prize Castor from there back to
Mauritius. By 1 May 1797, Hodoul had his own command, the corsair
Apollon (ten cannon and six howitzers of twelve) which had arrived from
Brest in January and had been armed as a corsair by Charles Pitot of
Mauritius. On this day he left Port Louis from the Malabar coast, where,
a week later, he captured the three masted Eliza under Captain Brown,
and three days later, on 17th May, a small British vessel the Endroussi.
Three days later in the roads of Coringa he seized the Macroy, whose
cargo included a strong box full of pearls. After a brief hiatus, on
15th September 1797 he captured the Bader Bux, bound from Moka in Yemen
to Surat on the coast of Gujarat, with a full cargo including 3732 gold
ecus, a quantity of piastres, 296 gold sequins and a quantity of pearls.
Heading homeward towards Mauritius, on 30th October 1797, Hodoul
captured the Laurel under Captain Fuggo, and with his own crew depleted
by the need to man his prizes, he was forced to put the vessel’s
recalcitrant crew in leg irons. Ten days later, he took the Trayalle at
06.15 hrs and the Harrington later in that day. Austen, in A Naval
History of Mauritius, records the total prize money from the voyage as
703,479,803 francs, but this amount, many times larger than the total
prize money of any other corsair crew, must be held in question.

Back in Port Louis on the Ile de France, (Mauritius), the Apollon, in
which Hodoul probably held a half-share, was sold to the corsair Le
Vaillant and was captured by HMS Leopard northeast of Mombasa on 10th
November 1798. Its crew was held captive on Anjuan for several months.
Toussaint, noted historian of the Indian Ocean, maintains that Hodoul
sailed as mate under Le Vaillant on this fateful trip, but it appears
more certain that Hodoul stayed ashore in the Seychelles with his young
wife, Marie Corantine Olivette, who presented him with their first son,
Raymond, on 20th June 1799.

In late 1799 or early 1800 Hodoul took command of L’Uni, which had
already had two successful corsair cruises under Lememe. She was
described as ‘..a small frigate, armed with 18-pounders and
9-pounders..’ and ‘..a very fast sailor, (having) much the appearance of
a London-built ship, painted with yellow sides and white mouldings’.
Hodoul either owned her outright, or held a major share in ownership.

On 15th May 1800 Hodoul departed Port Louis in L’Uni, and two weeks
later, near St Anne, off the coast of Mahe, Seychelles, he fell in with
and captured the British Henriette under Captain White. On 11th July he
took the Helen under Captain Stewart, finding on board a sum of 80,000
piastres. Three weeks later he took the Friendship, and this his luck
ran out. Immediately after taking this prize, Hodoul turned to attack
and capture a vessel which he mistook to be a large Indiaman, but it was
in fact the Royal Naval frigate HMS Arrogant under Captain Osborne.
After a brief engagement, and to the delight of the captured British
crew on Friendship, Hodoul struck, and the L’Uni was taken to Madras as
a British prize. Jean Francois Hodoul was taken as a prisoner to Fort
William, Calcutta, where he was held until the Treaty of Amiens in 1802,
when he was able to return to his wife and young family in Seychelles.
His days as a corsair were now over, although it does seem that he at
least entertained the idea of a return to this lucrative profession, as
he applied on 23rd June 1803 to the Ordonnateur-General at Port Louis to
have qualification as a maritime captain confirmed. This would not have
been necessary for his continuing to command his own local vessels, but
would have been essential should he have sought a further lettre de
marque. Jean Francois Hodoul did not return to France, preferring to
settle in Seychelles, where he quickly became a prominent plantation
owner and a merchant, running, and initially captaining, a number of
island trading vessels, attempting to start a fishing industry on
Aldabra, and establishing marine installations both in Seychelles and
Mauritius. He was also busy siring and raising a large family. In 1802,
he built a fine home, “Les Mamelles”, south of the capital Victoria
(where it still stands, at Cascade, now renovated by one of his many
descendants, Desire Cauvin, and owned by the Michel family). He lived
for a while on Silhouette Island, then settled at Ma Constance, just
north of Victoria, and opposite the island of St Anne, near which he had
captured the British corsair Henriette. His home at Ma Constance no
longer stands, having been torn down in this generation, but its site is
still marked by a giant banyan tree just off the road north of Victoria.
Nearby are supposedly traces of a sluice used to tumble the coffee beans
from his experimental crop high in the hills, to the packing shed near
the house. On 1st June 1819, one of Hodoul’s vessels, the Six Soeurs,
captained by his eldest son Raymond, caught fire en route between
Seychelles and Mauritius, and burned to the water level with a large
loss of life. Of about sixty five people aboard the Six Soeurs when it
left Victoria, thirty eight escaped in the only boat, and of these
several died before the open boat reached Seychelles nine days later,
and several more in the next two weeks.

Hodoul remained a prominent and highly respected member of the
Seychelles community until his death in 1835. In 1829 he entertained the
former British naval officer James Holman at Ma Constance, and in his
subsequent book A Voyage Around the World Holman describes Hodoul as
‘one of the oldest and most wealthy, as well as one of the most
respectable inhabitants of the place’.

History has been kind to him, but it appears that this kindness is well
deserved. Slave trader? Yes, but as a ship’s captain in an age and an
environment where his activities were generally considered as
acceptable. Slave owner? Yes, but by reputation he was a kind and
thoughtful person who treated all his slaves well, and was well loved by
them. Cold-blooded corsair captain? Again by reputation, no. The story
is told of a British merchant captured in a British ship off India, who
was known to have his gold hidden on board. He showed Hodoul a number of
affidavits from Frenchmen in trouble recording the help that the
merchant had given them, and Hodoul told his crew that this kindness
should be returned, proposing to release the merchant and all his
gold.This, we are told, was agreed ‘with loud acclamation’. Family
history has it that on 10th January 1835 Jean Francois Hadoul left his
home on horseback to inspect the plantation, and the horse returned with
an empty saddle. His body was found after a search, apparently the
victim of a heart attack three months short of his 70th birthday. He was
buried at Bell Air cemetery, off Bel Air Road, Victoria, and twenty-one
years later his one-time child-bride Marie Corantine Olivette was buried
alongside, where they rest today in the peace and quiet of the overgrown
and ramshackle cemetery. Hadal’s epitaph - ‘il fut juste’ - translated
as “he was upright’, appears to be, from all other accounts, an accurate
description of the man who has gone down in maritime history as ‘The
Corsair of the Seychelles’.

Pirate ancestor (Flibustier or buccaneer)

Jean François Hodoul
Born in Ciotat on the 11/04/1765
Captained the brigantine "Scipion"
July 10 1792 captained the slave ship "Deux Sœurs".
Sept 9 1793 captained the brig "Le Succès" on a slaving trade mission
to Madagascar.
Met Marie Corentine Olivette Jorre de Saint Jorre from l'Isle de France
and settled at Plaine Saint André.
May 16 1794 Hodoul's Brig "Olivette" was at anchor at Victoria,
Mahé, when an English flotilla of four vessels and two French catches,
under command of Admiral Newcome sailed in.
The Governor, Quéau de Quinssy, capitulated. Hodoul appears to have
argued and the "Olivette" was taken by the English.
As soon as the English had sailed away the Governor re hoisted the
tricolour!
This appears to have happened several times.
Officially now a British territory, the Seychellois created their own
flag, carrying the inscription "Seychelles capitulation", which gave
them the freedom to trade with both British and French vessels.
Hodoul and Marie married June 8, 1794.
Hodoul proceeded to harry the British forces in the area, ironically
whilst based on a "British" island. The Seychellois still regarded
themselves as French.
More here:
http://perso.wanadoo.fr/henri.maurel/Biodoul.htm
including an account of Hodouls battles aboard his ship the "Apollo".
Apparently built a "chateau" finished in 1804 -"Udders" in the south
of Victoria, which has a tunnel to Saint Anne bay.
Apparently plundered for the British in the Red Sea and Persian Gulf.
Buried in a cemetery in BelAir.

Security for the paranoid

Relax Dude !

http://www.securityfocus.com/columnists/320

"I require my kids to use at least 14 character passwords on our home
network and I'm considering issuing them smart cards.

I keep my PC's turned around so I can tell if anyone has installed a
hardware keylogger.

I never check in luggage when I fly.

I do my Internet browsing from a locked down VMWare box that has no
rights on my network.

I use terrafly.com to see what others might be able to see about my home.

It takes five passwords to boot up my laptop and check my e-mail.

One of those passwords is over 50 characters long.

I also delete unused services on my servers. I block unused ports. And I
install hotfixes the day Microsoft releases them. "