Two Cafés Less

At the top of Montmartre's stairs, the first
café awaits you.

But More Metropole Coming Up Soon

Paris:- Monday, 16. August 1999:- Although I said I was feeling lazy last week, this is a false perception of mine. It is partly due to getting the new apartment organized only in short bursts - it still looks like a deranged campsite. Every time I sit down somewhere other than in front of the computer, I think I should be up and doing something else.

August has certainly cooled off and now TV-weather news is telling me that temperatures are 'below normal.' I don't need TV-weather news to tell me this; I can feel it.

It means I've got to stop putting off getting a toaster - although it is handy to pop out for some fried noodles any time of the day or night. I haven't been drinking much coffee either, but now it's time to warm up. I'll get a pot to make soup in too.

Not everything I'm feeling lazy about is domestic. The server-lady, Linda Thalman, came all the way in from her Cadillac Ranch last week and we had a sit-down meeting in a local café. She wants you to know she owes me two cafés less now.

We discussed the changes that this magazine 'Metropole Paris' is going to make. One of the most obvious will be the change of the Internet address URL to dot-Com. This is being tested now and you'll get a chance to see if it works within a week or two.

You can help with this. Metropole, with all its past issues online, contains over 1600 pages. Software has been used to make necessary alterations, but we all know that no software is perfect. So if you've got the time to do it, I want you to find as many mistakes as you can, and report them to me.

I'll think up some appropriate prize for the reader who rats on the most, as a thankyou for this help.

Next, I'm going to fiddle with the 'Links' page. I've always thought of it as a service - as info for readers, mainly. I'll start trying to doing better with this.

Linda Thalman's WFI server hosts many Web sites. Her server is hosting castles-for-rent and Paris guide books and a variety of services, including many involving languages and teaching. Since some of these may be of use to you, I'm going to have a Links page for these. Other commercial sites, not on the WFI server, will also be linked here.

In order to keep order, I'm also thinking of a third Links page. This one is for you; for your personal Web sites. I will prefer it if they are related to Paris in subject matter, but I'm willing to be flexible about it because a link from Metropole will require a reciprocal link. Send me your URLs and we'll talk about it.

There is also talk, less and less vague, about Metropole having a serious commercial alliance with a very serious firm in Paris - in order to offer you books, audio-CDs, CD-ROMs, DVDs and perhaps video versions of French films.

Unlike other online bookshops, many of the items on offer will be exclusively selected for Metropole readers. The offers will be multilingual too.

On the surface, this will mean that therewill be regular reviews of the items to be offered. I doubt if prices will be of the discount variety; exclusive selection, service and your satisfaction will be the priorities. This project has been a long time getting up steam because the backoffice part of it has to be flawless - and there's still some waiting to do for it.