Gerry O'Sullivan's Blog

Moved Down The Country

2006-11-22T23:27:00.000Z

This blog has moved home. Its new address is:http://www.unlaoised.gerryos.net If you have it bookmarked, don't forget to update the bookmark!

Gerry 2.0'Sullivan

2006-11-22T00:01:00.000Z

Today marks the second anniversary of my first click of the "Publish Post" button here on this blog. Since then, I have maintained a fairly steady output, with just over 600 posts published.A while back, I began to ask myself exactly what I wanted to gain from the blogging experience. I have always enjoyed writing, and so this was a good way to indulge that pastime. It's also useful for letting

Ireland Up To Third In IRB Rankings

2006-11-20T15:13:00.000Z

The IRB world rankings have just been updated after last weekend's matches. It makes nice reading for Eddie O'Sullivan and his men, as they go up two places to third, following their superb win over Australia yesterday.Full rankings here

How Not To Win Friends...

2006-11-18T01:26:00.000Z

Today, I was out and about in the south-east, calling on some of my customers in Wexford and Waterford. As I had one call to do in Arthurstown and then go on to Waterford City, I decided to take the ferry from Ballyhack to Passage East. The alternative is to go back to New Ross and head into Waterford on the N25, a journey of 40-odd km, and a major pain in the hoop, as New Ross can get badly

Diss-Honour

2006-11-16T22:43:00.000Z

There was a letter in the Irish Times today from a correspondent in Belfast, bemoaning that fact that the Republic of Ireland lacks an honours system, and so could not bestow a meaningful honour on her most famous artist, Louis le Brocquy, on the occasion of his 90th birthday."If he were a British subject, he would probably by now have received a high honour of some sort."[…]"Why should the Irish

Could Ireland Win The Rugby World Cup?

2006-11-16T21:56:00.000Z

(I really should get Hands In The Ruck back on the rails, seeing as we are now well into the rugby season.)I was discussing rugby with a colleague at work today, and I posited a theory of how Ireland could win next year's World Cup.Madness, you might think. The All-Blacks will run away with it. Well, yes. They should run away with it.So how could Ireland spoil the party? First of all, they need

Blade Runner

2006-11-14T22:46:00.000Z

Many, many years ago, when the downy fuzz on my teenage face became plentiful enough to warrant the use of a razor, the twin blade razor was an exotic tool. My older brothers (those without full beards) used single blade disposables. My dad used a "safety razor", which came apart and used replaceable blades.For a while, I was an early adaptor in the razor market. As soon as a new razor with

The Beta Band

2006-11-14T10:35:00.000Z

John Gruber writes about attitudes to that most beloved of Web 2.0 conceits - beta.Using “beta” as a badge of honor for released commercial software makes no more sense than using “buggy” in the same context, and it makes no more sense as an excuse, either.

In The Name Of The Father

2006-11-12T00:48:00.000Z

The mid-term elections on the USA have given the Democrats control of both Congress and the Senate, a turnaround which begins the lame-duck phase of George W Bush's presidency. In two years time, there is every chance that the Dems will win back the White House, but what a poisoned chalice that will be. It is very unlikely that the Iraq situation will have sorted itself out by them, and whoever

Stop Taking Photos Of Me!

2006-11-09T22:47:00.000Z

I know! I know! I'm turning into a complete baby-bore, and I can't help it.But this photo is too cute to let pass.

Cumann Filí Marbh

2006-11-07T23:34:00.000Z

Declan Kiberd had an article* in The Irish Times today concerning the Irish language. He points out that even with the most enthusiastic policies for promoting the language, it still has come nowhere near where we would like it to be in terms of daily usage.This is something that I have often thought I should write about. Like many others, my standard of Irish is abysmal, even though I studied it

Well Done, That Lady!

2006-11-06T23:29:00.000Z

It's great to see talent get recognition, as happened today when The Swearing Lady from The Arse End of Ireland was described thus in today's Irish Times: "The Swearing Lady is no less angry but is arguably more literary with it. Written from a Council estate in Galway and fulminating on the issue of being intelligent and frustrated by poverty and lack of opportunity, Swearing

Naas One

2006-11-06T23:11:00.000Z

Now that I live in lovely Laois, I have the pleasure of commuting the N7 Naas Road in the morning. The tailback usually starts around the Kingswood Interchange, and goes all the way to Newlands Cross and on to the Red Cow. On a good day, it usually takes 25-35 minutes to get to the top of the queue. But I have discovered a way to bring that down to about 5 minutes. Between the Kingswood

Seven Phases Of Owning An iPod

2006-11-02T00:18:00.000Z

I love this - a pictorial guide to the seven phases of owning an iPod.They missed one though - forgetting it's in the pocket of your combats and putting it through the wash, as I did with my nano.via TUAW

Advice

2006-11-01T00:10:00.000Z

Spotted in a hospital in England:

Sky, Tries and Statistics

2006-10-31T11:58:00.000Z

From this season, RTÉ no longer have live coverage of the Heineken Cup, as the exclusive rights have been captured by Sky.So, very reluctantly, we have added Sky Sports to our cable TV package. At €23 per month, it is over €100 more expensive per year than the TV licence. We'll probably watch a few Premiership matches as well, but I can't see myself getting too excited about something like

Road Deaths - What Can Be Done?

2006-10-23T23:17:00.000+01:00

Another weekend, and another clutch of fatalities on the roads. More hand-wringing all round. What are we to do, we all ask? Lower speed limits, maybe? Tougher driving tests? Restricting the engine size on cars driven by 17-25 year olds?Well how about this one: getting the cops to implement the measures already in place effectively.Last Friday morning, (a bright, dry morning,) I was driving to

Competition For Competition

2006-10-22T22:11:00.000+01:00

One of the main business stories of the last week or so was the administrative blunder by the Competition Authority which cleared the way for an unhindered takeover of Statoil's Irish operation by Topaz Energy.This sloppiness can only be down to the fact that the CA has a monopoly of the competition regulation market. Surely it needs a competitor to keep it on its toes.This is not an original

Pointless Instruction

2006-10-22T22:00:00.000+01:00

This is one of Aoife's favourite toys, a soft ball with different surfaces and textures:On the care label, it advises: "Do not iron." Why anyone would attempt to iron it is a mystery.It's a bit reminiscent of the story of the sign that was said to be in a field somewhere, bearing the instruction: "Do not throw stones at this sign."

Magners League 4-0 Guinness Premiership

2006-10-22T21:21:00.000+01:00

That was a satisfying weekend for Celtic rugby in general, and Irish rugby in particular.There was a lot of huffing and puffing during the week about comments made by Munster's Ronan O'Gara and the Ospreys' Justin Marshall, both of whom claimed that the standard of rugby in the Magners League was superior to that of the Guinness Premiership in England. In the first round of games in this season's

Back Online

2006-10-18T23:38:00.000+01:00

After a hiatus of a couple of weeks, I'm now happily back online, so will be catching up on some ideas over the next few days.I have the new iMac set up, and so have gone from this:to this:This thing is so fast, I may have to fit seatbelts.

Jabra The Shite

2006-10-05T10:08:00.000+01:00

As a salesman, I tend to spend a fair bit of time in the car, and also on the mobile. Not surprisingly, these two frequently overlap, and being the good citizen that I am, for years I have made provision for some sort of handsfree arrangement for the phone.For the last couple of years, I have been using a Bluetooth headset with the mobile. I upgraded the phone to a BlackBerry earlier this year,

Another Mayoman Who's Pissed Off With Shell!

2006-10-05T10:06:00.000+01:00

On my way home yesterday evening, I went a bit out of my way to fill my company van at the Shell garage in Kilmainham. I have a Euroshell card from work, and have bought diesel from this station several times in the past, as I used to live just around the corner from it.So having filled my tank with over €40 worth of diesel, I proffer my Euroshell card at the till. Only to be told that they no

The Big Move

2006-10-05T09:58:00.000+01:00

The big move went well at the weekend. My sister and her three daughters, aged eleven to five, volunteered to look after Aoife for the day. My brother-in-law volunteered with his van, so we got all the heavy stuff shifted on Saturday.There are still boxes all over the place, and we have to get curtains and some other bits and bobs this weekend, but bit by bit, it's looking more like a home than

Moving House

2006-09-29T00:14:00.000+01:00

We're in the middle of packing everything up and moving house right now. As a result, for the next week or so, posting here will be even more sporadic than it normally is.In the meantime, Aoife will keep you entertained.

A Piss-Take, Surely?

2006-09-28T23:54:00.000+01:00

Dublin Coastal Development.Dontcha just love that shamrock-shaped artificial island?

Words We Irish Use (No 4 In A Series) - "Bother"

2006-09-23T22:37:00.000+01:00

Or rather, the absence of bother.Head out from Dublin along the M7 or M4, and soon you'll find that contact with any service provider will yield the response "No bother!" (or more accurately "No bodder!")Need a plumber to fix your shower? After telling you how busy he is for the next six weeks, he'll make a false promise to phone you next week to see if he can fit you in. His last words to you

Further Tales From Dadland

2006-09-21T23:44:00.000+01:00

Ever since Aoife was born, we have been astounded by the generosity of people. Family, friends, friends of family and friends, people we know through work...it really is amazing.For example, I came back to work this morning after a few days off decorating the new gaff, to find this on my desk:A hand-painted magnum of wine from one of our suppliers in France. I don't even know them that well. They

Disappearing Blogs

2006-09-19T00:41:00.000+01:00

What's going on, at all, at all? The Boggersphere is shrinking before our eyes. Gavin, NI Magyar Paul, and now Mr Potato have all called it a day. United Irelander appears to have gone awol. For the first time, my blogroll is getting shorter rather than expanding.Speaking of my blogroll, I'm looking for suggestions for new blogs to read. A scan through what's there should give you an idea of what

Words We Irish Use (No 3 In A Series) - "Cat"

2006-09-19T00:33:00.000+01:00

"Cat", as in bad, awful, dismal."Jesus, the weather today was cat, so it was!"How did this word enter the popular lexicon? Is it a shortened version of "catastrophic"? Does it derive from an Irish (Gaelic) word?Of course, if you want to emphasise the catness of the situation, the word "melodeon" is appended - viz. "I don't know what happened to Mayo yesterday, they were absolutely cat melodeon

Geek Joke

2006-09-19T00:31:00.000+01:00

You probably have heard this one before, but just in case:There are 10 types of people in the world: those who understand binary notation, and those who don't.

More May(w)o(e)

2006-09-19T00:16:00.000+01:00

Look, it's bad enough Mayo getting humiliated in the All-Ireland, but listening to the condescending shite afterwards just makes it worse.This from Tom Humphries in the Irish Times:"Jack O'Connor, dealer in realities, separated romance from pain. Jack said afterwards that the one year Kerry had been waiting hurt a lot more than the 55 years that Mayo had been waiting. He believed that and Kerry

2004 All Over Again

2006-09-17T22:03:00.000+01:00

It wasn't even a contest in the end. Eight minutes in and it was all over. Mayo can have no complaints, the best team won.But it doesn't make it any easier to accept.Sport can be very cruel. No team ever wins anything because it's their turn, or because destiny is on their side, or because they're a great bunch of lads. They win because they are the best team on the day. And today Mayo came up

A Key Moment

2006-09-15T23:17:00.000+01:00

These major life milestones are coming thick and fast. Along with turning 40 and becoming a father last month, today my wife and I joined the propertied classes and took possession of our new house.

Words We Irish Use (No 2 In A Series) - "Sliced Pan"

2006-09-13T23:28:00.000+01:00

If you are off to the shops to pick up your messages, there's a good chance that you may have a sliced pan on your list.I worked for a while in a pub in London, and one of the women working in the kitchen was Irish. She was in charge of making the sandwiches, and always referred to a loaf of bread as a "sliced pan". Whenever anyone new started in the kitchen, this expression had to be explained

Reaction to Apple's "It's Showtime!"

2006-09-13T22:45:00.000+01:00

Yesterday saw another of Apple's much anticipated media events, and this time the focus was on the entertainment division of the company.Reaction to the fairly minor upgrade of the main iPod line has been muted, as many were hoping (a bit unrealistically, imo) for a widescreen, touch-screen "true" video device. There were many others for whom it was the (so far mythical) iPhone or nothing.The

The County That Dared Not Hope

2006-09-13T22:06:00.000+01:00

Sunday sees Mayo and Kerry take to the field at Croke Park to contest the 2006 All-Ireland football final. This is the fifth final appearance for Mayo since their last win 55 years ago. Since then they have lost to Cork (1989), Meath (1996 - and we're still sore about that one), and Kerry (1997, 2004). Mayo have met Kerry once before as well, in 1932, and yes, they lost that one too.After the

Words We Irish Use (No 1 In A Series) - "Messages"

2006-09-09T23:34:00.000+01:00

As in "I'm off to the shops to pick up a few messages."We all know what this means - a few things, goods, purchases. But to a non-Irish person it is an intriguing thing to say.My sister-in-law has lived in West Bromwich for a number of years, and still has her Cork accent and armoury of expressions intact. I remember her saying that she got some odd looks from her English colleagues at work when

Pick 'n' Mix Papers

2006-09-08T22:54:00.000+01:00

On my way to lunch yesterday, I picked up a copy of the Irish Times. It being a Thursday, it was Property Pr0n day, and there were no fewer than three parts to the property supplements. In terms of volume, the supplements were roughly twice the size of the main body of the paper.Having no interest whatsoever in the unbridled lunacy that is Dublin's property market (and let's face it, the IT PP

New Pee Dee Leader

2006-09-08T21:47:00.000+01:00

So is there even going to be a contest for the leadership of the Progressive Democrats? There seems to be a consensus in the media that Michael McDowell is a shoo-in for the job to replace Mary Harney.Let's look at the three main contenders and see how they would stack up:Liz O'DonnellLiz O'Donnell has a reasonably high profile both within the party and with the general public. In her favour, she

Final Score

2006-09-07T10:55:00.000+01:00

Germany scored a converted try and two penalties against San Marino last night.If our qualification hopes come down to goal difference, we might be disappointed.

I Want, I Want!

2006-09-07T00:23:00.000+01:00

Well, the predictions were only an inch out. There isn't to be a new 23" iMac, but a 24" one instead. Apple refreshed its iMac line today (and the Mac minis too). As predicted, the new Core 2 Duo processors (with more clock speed) are in all the new iMacs and there's more RAM in the 20" and 24" as standard.What's really nice is that the prices have come down on the upgraded 17" and 20"

That's What I Thought He Said Too!

2006-09-06T23:29:00.000+01:00

A letter in today's Irish Times:Madam, - For a mad moment there, watching the RTÉ interview with Dr Garret FitzGerald last Sunday week, I understood him to say he was "a good deal of a prick" in his younger days. And I thought, delightedly: what an endearing confession, what an admirable admission of human imperfection, and what an expression of the common touch. Alas, how disappointed I

A Tale Of Two Ciders...

2006-09-03T23:58:00.000+01:00

Imagine the following scenario:A company signs a deal for one of its products to become the named sponsor of an international sports event. However, the product goes by different names depending on where it is sold. It has one name for its home market (i.e. the country in which it is produced), and a different name for export markets. What should it do?a. Use the name it carries in its home

23" iMac On The Way?

2006-09-01T23:49:00.000+01:00

Both Mac Rumors and AppleInsider have flagged the possibility of a new addition to the iMac family - a 23" model. In addition, they report on rumours that the entire iMac line-up is to get new processors (and a speed-bump, presumably) with the faster Merom chips replacing the current Core Duos.Apple have sceduled a special event on Tuesday, 12 September, and it is believed that the new

These Young People And Their Bloody Music...

2006-09-01T23:03:00.000+01:00

As if you didn't know, The Electric Picnic started this evening in Stradbally, Co Laois. Several high-profile bloggers have devoted much bandwidth to the event.My festival days are over, I think. I can't remember exactly what was the last outdoor, multi-artist event I attended. I think it was the Fleadh in Finsbury Park in 1991.Anyway, I had a gawk at the lineup for the EP. Of the 90 or so that

New Blog On The Block

2006-08-29T00:09:00.000+01:00

Check out davymac : pixels + print professional, a newcomer to the Irish blogging scene. Davy's background is in graphic design and the advertising industry, so his site will be of interest to anyone with an eye for good design.

Magnificent Mayo Flush The Jacks!

2006-08-27T17:48:00.000+01:00

I'm not a big GAA follower, but the result from Croke Park today was sweet.All week, we heard that all Dublin had to do was show up. The print media was disgracefully biased towards Dublin. It was 'we' this and 'our' that.Now Mayo go on to the All-Ireland final, in another bid to lift the Sam Maguire for the first time since 1951. Their opponents will be Kerry, who have beaten them in their last

Probably A Long Shot...

2006-08-25T23:23:00.000+01:00

I got an e-mail this morning, which read as follows:Hello Mr. O'Sullivan,I encountered your blogg and I was wondering if you would be able to help me locate someone. His name is John O'Sullivan. He's a rugby player or x-rugby player from Cork who was in Dublin on Aug. 12 for some sort of rugby conference. We were supposed to get in touch with him before traveling to Cork but I seem to have

A Tough Trough Coming Through, Though

2006-08-23T00:11:00.000+01:00

Hugh wrote a piece the other day about pronunciation of certain words. The thought struck me after I read it that English must be an utter bitch of a language to learn as a non-native speaker. The only other language I speak to any effective degree is French, and it can be difficult to learn as it is not spoken phonetically. Many words contain letters that are not pronounced. For example "ils

Create Your own Web 2.0 Logo

2006-08-22T23:21:00.000+01:00

We bloggers are just soooo cutting edge, and we are the ones that are taking advantage of all that Web 2.0 has to offer. So it stands to reason that you should have a logo to reflect this*. Like this one:Create your own here* literally in this case.

A Critic Writes

2006-08-21T00:45:00.000+01:00

Trevor White, restaurant critic and publisher of The Dubliner, has a piece in this week's Observer Food Monthly about the nefarious goings-on in the restaurant business.White has just written a book on the topic, Kitchen Con, to be published next month.

Boys Falling Behind

2006-08-21T00:32:00.000+01:00

The results of the Leaving Cert came out last week, and with them the perennial report of how better girls are doing in the exams than boys.There seems to be little concern expressed with regard to this trend, with many commentator putting it down to girls working harder than their male colleagues, or even that they are more clever.I'd reckon that if it was the other way around, the commentators

Dadhood - An Update

2006-08-21T00:02:00.000+01:00

I haven't had much chance to post for the last week, for obvious reasons. Being the besotted Dad that I now am, I have been spending any computer time I have had sorting the many photos of our little darling and posting them to a web page. Many thanks to everyone who sent their best wishes. The two ladies are home now and we are all adjusting to the new domestic situation.Since their homecoming,

Life Begins...(Part 2)

2006-08-14T11:23:00.000+01:00

Introducing Aoife O'Sullivan, born this morning at 8.24 am. Mother and baby both doing fine.Now that was a 40th birthday present worth waiting a couple of weeks for!! :-)

Getting A Handle On Things

2006-08-13T23:57:00.000+01:00

Kevin considers which books from his collection he would choose to show off."If I were to choose the four books with which to show-off, The Outsiders would not be included. Much better to pick Lolita, Crime and Punishment or some lofty non-fictional tome."This reminded me of something the great Myles na gCopaleen wrote once for his Crushkeen Lawn column, and was republished in the anthology "The

Noooooooo!!!!!

2006-08-08T23:04:00.000+01:00

Vodafone are using "Another Girl, Another Planet" by The Only Ones in their latest TV campaign.That song is a classic of its era.It just isn't right, do you hear?Not right at all.

Apple Should Blow Its Own Trumpet

2006-08-08T22:38:00.000+01:00

Last Apple WWDC post and then I'll shut up.One of the most discomfiting aspects of the WWDC so far has been Apple's constant mocking of Microsoft and Vista, both in the keynote and on the banners on display at the Moscone Center. (See these photos taken by John Gruber of Daring Fireball.) Now I'm no great fan of Microsoft, but when Apple has the far superior OS, and its implementation program

Creative Quandry for Apple and Adobe

2006-08-08T22:25:00.000+01:00

I still haven't managed to get a good strong stream to watch the WWDC keynote, and it keeps buffering every couple of minutes and times out completely after about 15 minutes. So far I have seen Steve Jobs's introduction about 15 times. I will be able to quote it verbatim soon.One thing that I did notice was when Phil Schiller was introducing the Mac Pro. He was comparing the speed of the new

WWDC '06

2006-08-07T22:46:00.000+01:00

Steve Jobs made his Keynote presentation to Apple's World Wide Developers' Conference today, and like many previous presentations, it was preceded by weeks of speculation and prediction.WWDC is not a consumer event per se and is aimed first and foremost, as its name suggests, at the people who develop the apps for the Mac platform. So it was unlikely that Jobs was going to announce any changes to

Calexico At The Olympia

2006-08-01T23:45:00.000+01:00

Calexico are playing the Olympia in Dublin on Thursday, 2 November. Just noticed it on their website. It's unlikely that I'll be able to go, but I just thought that I should highlight it, as I know there a few fans of the band in the Irish 'sphere.

Life Begins... (Part 1)

2006-08-01T00:01:00.000+01:00

Forty candles on my cake today.

Independents' Day

2006-07-31T23:27:00.000+01:00

There was a piece on The Last Word this evening featuring the spokesman for a new pressure group opposed to wind power. It was standard stuff, objecting to the visual impact of the wind turbines, the noise nuisance, questioning the relative value of wind-generated power in the overall scheme of things. Now I have no opinion on the merits or lack thereof of wind power, but I was waiting for the

Stop Of The Pops

2006-07-27T23:06:00.000+01:00

Several bloggers have written their thoughts on the passing of Top of the Pops, the last edition of which airs this weekend. (Disillusioned Lefty Michael and Miss Fitz at Slugger are just two who have posted on the subject today.) There are few people either here or in Britain between the ages of 15 and 55 or so who would not have regularly tuned in to the show.For me the heyday of TOTP was the

eyeTV

2006-07-26T22:36:00.000+01:00

I have written about ScreenCastsOnline a few times before, and do so again now, because Don McAllister is coming up with some really good stuff right now. This week, he's looking at recording digital TV on his Mac using the eyeTV for DTT device and EyeTV2 software. This looks like an amazing piece of kit that takes the scheduling, recording and editing of digital TV to a new level. Another good indicator to go by is the number of new restaurants opening, particularly big, ambitious ventures. Again in Dublin this is the case, with some high

What A Finish!

2006-07-04T22:59:00.000+01:00

Tonight's semi-final between Germany and Italy was definitely one of the best games of the tournament. In the end, Italy were the deserved winners by two goals to nil, even if they had to wait until the 118th minute to score. I was on the edge of my seat for most of the match, and as extra time wore on, was dreading the prospect of penalties. If it had gone to that, Germany would probably have

Wordpress Tutorial

2006-07-01T22:45:00.000+01:00

I have written about Don McAllister's excellent ScreenCasts Online site a few times before. SCO is an excellent resource for Mac users, with well-scripted and presented tutorials on many applications. It's not exclusively Mac stuff either, as Don often looks at apps that exist for Windows as well as Mac. This week, the subject is the Wordpress blogging tool. In the Screencast, Don gives a

Step Right Up...

2006-06-29T23:20:00.000+01:00

We usually have the Ian Dempsey show on the radio on in the car on the way into work in the morning. (I know we should be listening to something more cerebral like Morning Ireland, but they always seem to be going on about the health service. Or industrial relations. Or even better, industrial relations within the health service. Besides, my wife has the casting vote in this matter.) As is

Cops Out

2006-06-29T22:42:00.000+01:00

I got this in an e-mail today: Starting Saturday 1st July, Garda Traffic Corps will launch a 30 day speeding ticket frenzy. The state estimates that over €250,000 will be generated in speeding tickets. €100,000 will go to pay Garda over time. There will 50 Gardai on duty at all times patrolling on the following: M7/N7 from Naas to Portlaoise N4 to Mullingar from Dublin N6 to Athlone N81 to

A Tale Of Ale

2006-06-27T00:17:00.000+01:00

Once upon a time, many years ago, I worked as a beer critic for a well-known, now defunct magazine. It was a great life, as I used to get to travel the world, drinking lots of different beers.Rather than contact breweries and just get a corporate lowdown of whatever they were promoting at that time, I used to just go to bars and get talking to people. The sort of people who drank the stuff, and

Ad Nausea

2006-06-25T23:31:00.000+01:00

High-profile events, like the World Cup bring with them lucrative advertising potential for the media organisations that broadcast them. So we tend to see the same ads over and over again, as the corporations with the biggest advertising budgets buy up entire packages for the duration of the tournament.The drawback is that the ads get on your nerves after a while. Like the one for the phone

The Safe Download Code

2006-06-21T23:31:00.000+01:00

Anyone who grew up in Ireland in the 1970s will probably have the Safe Cross Code deeply engrained on their subconscious: "Remember: One, look for a safe place; Two, don't hurry, stop and wait; Three, look all around and listen before you cross the road, etc., etc." In this age, maybe we should come up with a Safe Download Code, an easy to remember ditty that reminds us of what to do and what

No Hangup About Hanging Up

2006-06-21T23:11:00.000+01:00

Eight o'clock this evening. Myself and herself are just about to settle in front of the telly with dinner on our laps, and watch the Argentina v. Netherlands match. The phone rings. I answer it. Caller: "Is that Mr O'Sullivan?" Me: "Yes." Caller: "Good evening. I would like to tell you how you can save on your telephone bill..." Me (wordlessly): *hang up* I know it's incredibly rude of me to

WEEE Directive And Gadgets From Amazon

2006-06-20T22:45:00.000+01:00

My work car was done over last week and among the things that went walkies (along with the alloys) was my Bluetooth headset. It was a nice one, a Jabra BT250, that I got from amazon.co.uk back in April. So last night, I loaded up the Amazon site to order a replacement. When I selected my address, an error message came back, saying that this item couldn't be delivered to Ireland. I was a bit

Headline Of The Day

2006-06-16T21:41:00.000+01:00

From Football 365's homepage: Blogged with Flock

Polish-ed Off

2006-06-14T23:39:00.000+01:00

A couple more phrases of Polish to learn (courtesy of translation-guide.com):Chory równie pewien papuga Sick as a parrot Możesz nigdy wyksięgować ten NiemcyYou can never write off the Germans

CJH - Saint or Sinner?

2006-06-14T23:27:00.000+01:00

We all knew that once Charles Haughey finally shuffled off this mortal coil, there would be a vigorous debate about the man and his legacy. There is no denying that Haughey was one of the towering figures of Irish politics in the second half of the 20th century. He was a complex character, equally impressive and appalling. He had a shrewd eye for a political vision and there is no doubt that he

Catwin's Law

2006-06-12T23:18:00.000+01:00

Via Gavin:Possibly the most bizarre site on the net: Cats that look like Hitler.And to be fair to them, this poor little fecker really does look like him.

Boxing Clever

2006-06-12T22:59:00.000+01:00

I love discovering useful little utilities on the net, and one of the most recent ones I have found is Box.net, a file storage utility. When you sign up, you get a minimum of 1GB free storage, so it's handy for backing the odd file up, or for sharing files between different computers. Plus it's free.As well as the free account, you can pay for more storage. And if you refer a minimum of ten new

GWB Has Difficulty Containing His Delight...

2006-06-09T13:08:00.000+01:00

"We're All Part Of Pawel's Army..."

2006-06-09T00:54:00.000+01:00

"...We're All Off To Germaneeeeee!"**There is a lot of talk about Irish people supporting Poland in the World Cup, given that there is such a significant Polish contingent living here. If we are to do it, we're going to have to get the lingo right. so with the aid of translation-guide.com, here are a few phrases* to get you started.I'm over the moon Jestem przez ten księżycOi, ref! Are you blind

World Cup '06

2006-06-06T23:14:00.000+01:00

As just about everyone on the planet knows by now, the World Cup begins this week. (Pity the poor footie-mad students starting their Leaving and Junior Cert exams tomorrow.)I'm not all that excited about it, to be honest. Ireland aren't in it, so that takes a lot of the buzz out of the whole thing. Last time around, myself and herself were on holiday in the Languedoc, in a gite with no telly. We

A Few Statistics

2006-06-05T22:28:00.000+01:00

My travels, from last Friday morning to this afternoon, summarised:Number of km travelled: 1,088Number of provinces traversed: 3Number of counties visited: 14Number of Garda patrols encountered: 0

Some News Of Fellow Bloggers...

2006-06-02T21:58:00.000+01:00

The Disillusioned Lefties will be starting the Leaving shortly. All the best, lads.(Jeezus, I did mine before they were even born. I'm getting old... )If you haven't yet discovered Arse End of Ireland, then do so. Superb writing from The Swearing Lady.Bon voyage to United Irelander, who's off on his holidays. Where to, I wonder? Belfast? Brussels? Strasbourg? Cork?

Wise Words

2006-05-30T23:37:00.000+01:00

If you don't normally read Twenty Major, or haven't read him for a while, or maybe have never read him, then please take some time to read his open letter to Bertie Ahern.One of the best posts I have read this year.

Image Well

2006-05-29T22:32:00.000+01:00

I have just discovered a really handy little OS X app called Image Well that makes basic picture editing very easy.Up to now, whenever I wanted to do a minor adjustment to an image, for example resize it for posting on the web or add some text, I always reached for Photoshop. However, I find Photoshop slows my system down as it's a bit of a resource hog. Then you get into all the layers mullarkey

Corklexico

2006-05-28T23:17:00.000+01:00

When I got my copy of Calexico's latest album "Garden Ruin", it had an accompanying DVD all about the making of the album. I watched it for the first time this weekend, and spotted this:Joey Burns is wearing a Peoples Republic of Cork t-shirt. (The Revolutionaries one.)What next? Sufjan Stevens wearing a Munster jersey?

iMoggy

2006-05-28T22:56:00.000+01:00

Anyone who reads this blog will be well aware that I am a fan of Apple. Anyone who knows me will also know that I am a big softie when it comes to cats.This Flickr pool manages to combine both.Via TUAW

Siren Call

2006-05-28T22:36:00.000+01:00

Driving along the North Circular Road this afternoon, I became aware of an emergency services siren approaching. It was coming from behind, so I pulled over to allow whatever it was to pass.So was it a fire engine on its way to attend to a burning building? An ambulance bringing a seriously ill or injured person to the Mater hospital? A Garda car about to apprehend a couple of ne'er-do-wells

The Honeymoon Ends...

2006-05-25T09:49:00.000+01:00

Munster's Win: What Does This Mean For Irish Rugby?

2006-05-22T22:48:00.000+01:00

They say that success breeds success. When a kid sees his hero lifting a major trophy, it inspires him. In his play, he becomes his hero and recreates the winning try, goal or point.The support that Munster engender among their faithful is legendary. Whenever the camera pans along the crowd in Thomond or Musgrave Park, we see rows of kids clad in the Munster jersey. These kids will remember 20