Re: [NTLK] [REPORT] Einstein Night

> From: "Matt Howe" <matthowe@comcast.net>
> Subject: Re: [NTLK] [REPORT] Einstein Night
> Date: Thu, 1 Jun 2006 11:22:30 -0400
>
> Ok, I will freely admit that my multi language skills leave much to be
> desired. I speak a very little Bavarian, not even High German. But
> I use the
> Google language tools regularly on things I see that are not in my
> native
> American English. So when I saw Paul's sig block I had Google
> translate it.
> This is what I got back:
>
> Minister ultraplénipotentiaire of availability. Mobile. Without fixed
> bath-tub
>
> Paul, is this even remotely correct? And if so, you most definitely
> need to
> explain the bath-tub reference.

"Ministre ultraplénipotentiaire en disponibilité" means exactly what
L.W. Brown explained. It's an oxymoron since you usually don't have
full powers and are unemployed at the same time. It's a reference to
"La Vie Parisienne" by Offenbach where domestic workers are
organizing a fake high society party and they bear invented titles.
One of them is "Ministre ultraplénipotentiaire en disponibilité". "La
Vie Parisienne", as well as Offenbach operettas in general, are very
funny pieces.

"Mobile" means I can relocate as I actually did. "Sans baignoire
fixe" indeed means without a fixed bath-tub. It's both a reassertion
of the mobile part, as part of a series of derived phrases from "Sans
domicile fixe", homeless in French, and a reference to the bath-tub
philosophy (philosophie de baignoire) my previous signature was based
on.

Anyway. :)

Paul

-- 
Ministre ultraplénipotentiaire en disponibilité.
Mobile. Sans baignoire fixe.
http://www.kallisys.com/
http://www-poleia.lip6.fr/~guyot/
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