Its a Big Shopping Centre - haigh

Stop and think, then click the link

2011-11-18T13:11:00.004Z

Imagine your 15 year old son or daughter, niece or nephew got up on a glorious Saturday morning. They were excited because they were heading to a football match. A massive game between two of the biggest teams in the country at the time. Nothing appeared untoward of sinister initially, but they never came home. Read that again. They never came home. From a football match.

On 15^th April 1989 Kevin Williams was one of the 96 to tragically die directly from injuries sustained at the Hillsborough disaster. However his death is different from the rest. At the time, the coroner amazingly put a 3.15pm cut-off point for ALL the people who died in the disaster. He stated everyone who died was clinically dead by that time. The difference with Kevin Williams is that there are statements from different people stating they spoke with Kevin up until at least 3.45pm. The coroner refused to change the time & a massive injustice is ongoing.

On Monday night, 17th Oct, a debate of huge significance took place in England. Over 130,000 people signed a petition to have Hillsborough debated, the case to be reopened, and the files from the time opened to the public for the first time. These files are so important as they contain the actual minutes of meetings between Maggie Thatcher, her government, the Sheffield Police and other ‘interested’ parties at the time. The whole investigation has been one cover up after another (Police chief at the time lied to the FA about the cause, FA lied to government who told lies to the s*n newspaper who lied to the country).in Williams is that there are statements from different people stating they spoke with Kevin up until at least 3.45pm. The coroner refused to change the time & a massive injustice is ongoing.

Following on from the debate on Monday, Kevin’s mother Anne Williams has started a petition to have the 3.15pm cut-off reversed and Kevin’s case reviewed. At 3.15pm Kevin was alive and needed medical attention from an ambulance. Ambulances were not allowed onto the pitch. If they had been, he’d have survived.

This is such an important case for us that we need to get everyone to sign this. Please sign this. It only takes 2mins to sign (fill in the four fields online & then click the link emailed to you – if you don’t click the emailed link your signature wont count). You can fill this in for your partner/kids as well. You will need to note you are a UK resident or citizen.

The case deserves to be reviewed.

Petition Link

You can watch some of the MP’s speeches on the debates here

Information on the disaster here

Please sign & then post on yer Facebook, Twitter or whatever you use.

Run Update

2010-09-30T14:58:00.002+01:00

Following on from my post the other day about the amazing run my friend is doing (http://bigsc.blogspot.com/2010/09/from-past-to-future.html), there is an update.

Here is the route we will be taking for the run tomorrow. Please come out and support this great cause:

"Brendan finishes his challenge in Galway on October 1st when he will run the last leg.

Starting from Blackrock at 3pm, he will run along the prom via Nile Lodge and St. Mary’s road to UCHG.

Brendan is asking anyone who might like to walk, jog or run to join him at Blackrock and support him to the finish line at the front door of UCHG, around 4pm where together with family and friends he will be greeted by Prof . Michael Kerins (Medical director of NBCRI) and the NBCRI research team who are based at Clinical Science Institute, UCHG."

The route: http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=Upper+Salthill+Rd&daddr=53.26956,-9.06565+to:53.276339,-9.067926&hl=en&geocode=Ff2mLAMdaTh1_w%3BFTjULAMdTqt1_ykjjZuQ-JZbSDEBXsv7pscAEw%3BFbPuLAMdaqJ1_w&mra=dpe&mrcr=0&mrsp=1&sz=15&via=1&dirflg=w&sll=53.270064,-9.069986&sspn=0.007571,0.038152&ie=UTF8&ll=53.267318,-9.07093&spn=0.007572,0.038152&z=15

Please come along...

From the past to the future

2010-09-27T19:43:00.003+01:00

This coming Friday, October 1st 2010, my best friend Brendan McCarthy will complete an amazing challege to run 1,000 miles in 50 days. That's 20 miles per day, every day, for just over 7 weeks.

Why is he doing this I hear you ask? Well, its best that he answers in his own words:

"On the 8th of February, 2010, my sister Tricia died of breast cancer. It was too late for Tricia, but I felt that I had to do something to prevent this happening to other families. So from the 13th of August to the 1st of October (fifty days), I'm running (walking and crawling) twenty miles a day for charity.

The money raised will be donated to the National Breast Cancer Research Institute where it will be used in the fight against breast cancer".

You can become a fan of this on Facebook also: http://www.facebook.com/?sk=ff&ap=1#!/group.php?gid=145659082124810

The last leg of the run will take place in Galway where Tricia lived. The run will start in Blackpool at 3pm and we will run past Tricias home and finish at the University College Hospital Galway. He will be met by Prof Michael Kerins and the NBCRI research team for whom the money is being raised.

If you would like to donate please do so here: http://www.mycharity.ie/event/tricia_mccarthy/. If you'd like to join in the run and fun on Friday please do come along. Just leave a message on Facebook!!

Benji In the Snow

2010-03-16T22:46:00.002Z

Took this picture down in Newbridge during the snow. This is my brother in law's dog Benji. Took him out for a walk.

Nice.

Any day..

2010-03-16T20:48:00.001Z

Any day today, we'll see this little 'un in daylight.

Can't wait.

Hollibob Pics

2009-12-15T09:38:00.006Z

In November, the wife and myself decided to take some time off and do some exploring. We went to that London for three nights and then headed in Norn Iron, spending 2 nights in Belfast and 2 nights outside Ballymena - Haigh !

It was a fantastic trip, really great. The scenery in Ireland is spectacular and if you have never been north - go! We drove as far as Dundalk, hung a right and took the coast road to Carlingford into Newry and down the other side of Carlingford Lough. Magic.

First though, we went to London spending a few days in Kensington. Accommodation wasn't great but we didn't spend much time indoors. On the first day, we got the underground to Buckingham Palace then walked to the Thames via Westminster Cathedral, then Westminster Abbey and the Houses of Parliament.

The Cathedral is a spectacular building, all full of nooks and crannies. There are loads of little praying areas, all for different priests and most used by the looks of it. Some hold maybe 10 people, others are bigger. I didn't get any pictures inside as they prefer you not to.

After this, and Starbucks, we went to the Abbey and again a magnificent building. All around this building there is great architecture on view. The Abbey itself had restricted access on the day but still to walk around outside is cool. It reminded me very much of Notre Dame but with a more regal feeling about it. It's just like you would imagine when Kings and Queens were having mass years ago whereas Notre Dame has a more imposing feeling - to me anyway.

That day there were memorial services for Poppy Day and so there was something on at the side of the Abbey. As you can see in the picture, there were thousands of little crosses, with lots of them having peoples names on it. I watched for a while as men from all regiments looked around for their friends names. Many took pictures of them and many wife's took pictures of their husbands at the crosses. It was a very sombre moment to be honest. The picture I took represented only maybe a tenth of all the flags.

From there, it was onto the Houses Of Parliament, a building I really like. Maybe its because every time I see it all I can think of is Guy Fawkes and what the place, and indeed the world, would look like if he succeeded!

Along the back of the building, there is a really imposing statue of Richard I of England. It's just there, on its own with no other statue around. How cool would it be to be immortalised in a statue. Cool.

There is also a status of Oliver Cromwell but for fairly obvious reasons I didn't take a picture of it - me dad would kill me.

There is a lovely walk through a park, along the Thames. In this park is a tribute to Emmeline Pankhurst. On a fresh Winters day this wee park is lovely, bringing you up to Lambeth Bridge a a view back to the Houses Of Parliament

Tomorrow, we'll walk up the Thames from Lambeth Bridge to Tower Bridge, drink London Pride beer, eat a Sunday roast in a good London pub, watch the last 10 minutes of Chelsea v ManU on mobile text alerts and then have a kebab.

Clongriffin Christmas Market

2009-12-10T12:04:00.005Z

Righty-o. There is a Christmas Market this coming Saturday in Clongriffin, Dublin 13. Everyone should come along as it will be magic. Below is the flyer for it though loads more stalls have been added since this was made.

Loads to do for the kids..and also for the adults!
Get into the Christmassy mood by donning your Santy gear and get your arse to Clongriffin. Click here for the directions.

Kiddie Blog

2009-11-18T11:34:00.003Z

So, we are due to have a little baby in March next year. It is without a doubt the most exciting and scary time of my life - and that's just thinking about it. What if it becomes a Manure fan (it wont I assure you, but still an adequate fear to have)? What if its totally different to me? How will I cope with less than 8 hours sleep? All questions that have me fretting.

However. if I ever make a website or blog showing endless, mind-numbing pictures of the little tyke you have my permission to put me down.

That is all.

p.s. yyyyiiipppppppppppeeeeeeeee

Mo, mo, Movember

2009-11-06T21:14:00.006Z

I am growing a moustache this year for Movember. I have decided to put down my razor for one month (November) and help raise awareness and funds for men's health - specifically prostate cancer.

What many people don't appreciate is that men have a 1 in 12 chance of developing prostate cancer during the course of their lifetime and that prostate cancer is the second most common cancer in men, after skin cancer in Ireland. Facts like these have convinced me I should get involved and I am hoping that you will support me.

To donate to my Mo, you can either:
* Click this link http://ie.movember.com/mospace/177339/ and donate online using your credit card or debit card
* Write a cheque payable to Irish Cancer Society referencing my Registration Number 177339 and mailing it to: Movember - Irish Cancer Society, 43/45 Northumberland Road, Dublin 4

Movember is now in its second year here in Ireland and, the first year already saw some great results by working alongside The Irish Cancer Society. Check out further details at: http://ie.movemberfoundation.com/research-and-programs.

If you are interested in following the progress of my Mo, click http://ie.movember.com/mospace/177339/. Also, http://ie.movember.com has heaps of useful information.

Mo Week 0 ---------------------------- Mo Week 1

Irish Web Awards 2009

2009-10-13T11:53:00.004+01:00

Banshee bones, Wheelies, Tayto’s, Lovehearts, Lindt Chocolate, Glow-glasses…and that was just Thursday! Its been a long few weeks.

What can be said about the Irish Web Awards that hasn’t been said before or someone hasn’t commented about yet this week? They are different to the Bloggies but are veering towards the Bloggies in terms of the fun element. I think the Webbies were seen as different due to the business element attending, but having seen how awards should be done, everyone embraces it now to make it the best awards ceremony in town.

I was sitting beside Hugh Linehan from the Irish Times and his wife, my cousin Jeanette, who were bowled over by the awards. They have been to all the other ceremonies – Spiders, Digital Media Awards, Film & TV awards and everything else - and they said that, without a doubt, they have never enjoyed an awards ceremony so much. They loved it. They loved the fact that the audience could see, via the bestest powerpoint presentation ever created (let John or myself know if you want a copy of the 160MB of goodness) pictures of the nominees. They loved the presentation. They loved Ricks interaction with the audience and the audience being asked to assist. They loved the actual awards which were fab (thanks Fran from Made In Hollywood). They loved the cupcakes, the sweets, the crisps, the food, the atmosphere – I mean, what wasn’t there to love about the awards.

I’ve seen some bitching and back-biting already about the awards. About the food, the judging, the winners, the PowerPoint, etc and it’s not nice. The amount of work that goes into this is phenomenal. It truly is. And considering all those who work on it have a full time job it makes it all the more remarkable. There is no panel of people whose sole job it is to make the awards happen. This is done afterhours, over lunch, weekends and other hours that people can find to make it happen. Certain items are intentional. The PowerPoint was meant to be like that as Rick said. We know its not the best that could be done but the challenge to make it that bad was nearly as tough as a challenge to make something brilliant. The effort that went into setting up the event, to get sponsors on board, to get the crisps & sweets & other items was huge as lots of companies hadn’t heard of the awards and were reluctant to help out. Some were great. So, before I give a good view on things, here some things I would like to point out:

1) If you didn’t volunteer to be a judge, you have no right to bitch about who won. You had a chance to help influence the winner by helping with judging. If your favourite site didn’t make either long or short list did you nominate it? It not, then shut up.
2) Did you volunteer or ask to help out with any part of the ceremony? If not, then don’t bitch about how it was. This was run with everyones best intentions and on peoples ‘free’ time people. If its not up to your usual standards then people will understand why you are not there next year.
3) Don’t bitch about the food and everything else. Show me where you can get something different each year, free food, some free drink, awards ceremony, chance to network and have a great laugh for €35? Again, fun events are meant to be fun hence the whole glow-glasses and sweeties.

Now, onto happy joy-joy things. Firstly, thanks Damien for a great event. Another stormer. Thanks Rick for presenting in such an affable and interactive manner. You do set the tone for the rest of the evening. Thanks Lexia for running the ppt show and John for doing my nut in ;) . Lexia, I know you were reluctant to run this but no one else could have done it. Ryan, again great pics. Thanks to everyone else for making it a great night and lovely to catch up with some heads that I’ve only just met through Twitter and in person. I enjoyed the night immensely and can’t wait for the bloggies. Both are growing into great events.

Damien, if you need help…count me in.

NB: Pics from Ryan (Rymus).

Its a long road home

2009-10-06T09:36:00.004+01:00

Date: 21st December 2008
Camera: Sony Cybershot 7.2 mega pixels
Settings: Automatic settings

Another picture on the ickle digital camera taken on the west coast of oz. I love driving on these roads. Air con up full, tunes turned up, shades on, car in top gear and only having to stop to wee or get petrol. That's the life.

A view to kill for

2009-10-05T10:11:00.006+01:00

Date: 19th December 2008
Camera: Sony Cybershot 7.2 mega pixels
Settings: Automatic settings

Took this pic with our little travel camera. This was the view from my back door for a few days last Xmas in Oz. We were staying in Monkey Mia which is in Western Australia. What a view to wake up to in the mornings.

We need to act now

2009-10-04T22:11:00.003+01:00

Following the revelations in today's Sunday Tribune regarding the expenses accrued by John O'Donoghue, our supposed Ceann Comhairle, while in that office I think its time something happened. Something big.

In the last two budgets the ordinary person has been severely hit in the pocket. Everyone, private sector and public sector, has been hit and yet this tool continues to squander our money on lavish trips. He stays in the best hotels, travels well above his station and worst of all - we've paid for his wife to see the world. Show me other business men that take their wife's with them on work? This is not good enough and not acceptable.

He must be sacked immediately for gross misconduct. An apology is not enough. Saying sorry for the needless spending of huge amounts of our money is not acceptable.

He should not be given the chance to explain or to pass it off onto the Joe-soap that booked trips. What I don't understand, is that the person who booked the trips when he was a minister still has a job. Surely if they booked trips that were extravagant and above what should have been spent, that's not doing the job right. But again everything glossed over and we were told to leave him alone as he said sorry...poor little bunny.

This man MUST be fired. He is not an appropriate representative of the Irish People, never has been in my eyes, and never will be. He is an example of everything that is wrong in Irish politics and with Fine Fail. He spends the tax-payers money without any thought or care for the people he was supposed to stand for and who worked harder than him to earn.

All money spent on his wife should be paid back into the tax coffers from his own personal wages. All hotels and use of car hire that was not related to his job (for example, car hire to go to horse racing events or flights to events other than state-related items) should be paid back from his personal money. His job should be terminated and he should only receive the pension money that he has accrued until now. No golden handshakes, no car, no pay off. Legislation must be changed now so that no more tax money is wasted on wasters like him or Rory Molloy. People who show disregard for their fellow people should not be rewarded as has been the case.

I think we as a people need to start to stand up and be counted or the budget will only serve to shaft us again. If we were French, German or Italian we would have taken to the streets at this stage instead of bending over and asking the Government for more sir.

Molloy needs to give back money. O'Donoghue needs to give back money and both never working in a public office job again.

Taxi regulation

2009-10-02T08:50:00.002+01:00

A few months ago, I got a taxi from Dublin City Centre back home to northside.

I was talking to the lovely fella, lets call him Tom, about the whole taxi regulation thing and striking. A strike was coming up that weekend and he said he wouldn't be attending. His reason was he felt it was uncalled for and that taxi drivers brought it upon themselves.

Tom had been a taxi driver when it was fully regulated. Back when you had to queue for 2 hours on a Friday or Saturday night in Dublin for a taxi. Back when you called for a taxi at 7am and at 8.30am you were ringing for the 4th time to be told it would still be 10mins. Something had to change and did.

These strikes and most people marching never care about the customers. They care about themselves. When it was regulated they minted it. The customers suffered but they didn't care. When it became easier to get a plate, the customer rejoiced as it was now a much better service. Prices went up over the last few years to compensate for loss of earnings but its easier than ever before to get a plate, that itself is wrong.

Tom told me he knew people who worked 3 or 4 days a week during full regulation and that kept the family going. If they were going on holidays or needed extra money for Christmas they would work 5 or 6 days. he knew drivers that had massive houses from 3 days work.

When the news of regulation was coming in, taxi unions and drivers were approached to agree on a way forward. They refused all proposals put before them and hence what we have today was put in place. The main idea mooted to them was that each taxi driver would be issued with another plate - each of them would have two plates. They could sell that plate onto anyone and double the amount of taxis in Dublin and elsewhere. Tom told me that lots of drivers liked that idea as it would help control the numbers. Lots didn't like it as it would mean they may have to work 5 days now to earn their keep. Taxi and union heads refused and so the regulation was opened up.

Tom left the taxi business and went on the building sites during the boom. He's now near retiring age and is back in the taxi game just for something to do. He works day time hours just to have some social interaction and to "keep out of the wife's hair". He has no sympathy for the current situation as he was saying it was too controlled with no proper rota system or care for customers. He felt the two-plate idea was great but his voice, and the voice of many colleagues, wasn't heard or listened to by those apparently representing them.

If they hadn't been so pig-headed before, things could be so different now.

Llama Face.

2009-10-01T20:09:00.002+01:00

For the day thats in it...

From Fota a few years back...and next just because its a top, top movie.

Simple Economics

2009-10-01T15:52:00.003+01:00

I’ve been listening to The Frontline and all the Radio station debates on the possible pay cuts in the public sector. As you would expect from our Unions, their number one answer is to strike rather than look at the overall picture.

The debate on The Frontline on Monday was good but it done nothing other than open up an us-and-them debate between private and public sectors with each outlining exactly what they’ve lost. However, I do despise when the public sector mention they have had an X% pay decrease and talk as if no-one else has had the same decreases. In my view, when these debates are going on no-one should mention pay decreases that have affected everyone – such as the 2% tax levy and the PRSI levy. Then talk about what else you’ve had reduced.

The public sector also are bitching about their pensions as if they have a god given right to have one in the first place. It’s great that they had it but why should my taxes go towards someone else’s retirement. One man on The Frontline mentioned about his friend in Siemens getting a 10% company donation to his pension. I’ve never seen anyone get 10% in the companies I worked for or heard any of my friends in other companies getting it. In fact, in most private sector companies they will assist you in setting up a pension but might not donate anything or you have to be a minimum of 1 year in the company before you are entitled to a pension. And even then it’s a raising scale starting at around 3% and moving up to around 6% as long as you match it. In the public sector, do you get one straight away? If so, that’s no right.

Personally, I think the only way out of the mess is to start treating every single section of the public sector as a business – let’s call the overall company FFCo. At the moment, FFCo do not make enough money to make up what they are spending. In any normal circumstances, this would mean administration or closure for that company. You can’t spend what you don’t have, a factor that the employees of FFCo don’t seem to understand.

FFCo make their money from people working in PrivateCo. The more people working in PrivateCo the more money FFCo make. Until late last year, FFCo made lots of money from PrivateCo but did not invest wisely assuming PrivateCo would continue to have vast employees making them money. On the back of this, FFCo made deals with UnionCo to give pay rises to FFCo staff for no reason other than that they felt they deserved them. We have yet to see reasons for pay rises such as meeting, or indeed exceeding, set objectives as happens in PrivateCo. Maybe giving good ideas to their part of FFC0, applying for roles, increasing productivity in their jobs or any other the other reason that PrivateCo workers are measured against? Is it right that some FFCo people giving out about not getting the 3.5% pay rise are in the same job for 30 years? Where are the career aspirations? Where’s the proof you’re entitled to a pay rise? Can you justify why you need to get more money for doing the same job and meeting the same targets year after year? Matching inflation is not a reason. PrivateCo workers are not judged on inflation but rather on performance, attitude, ability and many other attributes. In one job I had, I got 2 pay-rises in 5 years - one for promotion, one for performance related work as I helped the company keep vital contracts happy. If the contract went, I went. Simple economics – if there was no job then why have someone on the books?

I don’t think that the frontline staff in FFCo should suffer as people in FFCo think will happen. On The Frontline, it only seemed to talk to the FFCo frontline workers. Where were the consultants who work less than 35 hours per week and Jabba The Hut gave big wages to 2 years ago? Where are the admin staff that merged as part of the HSE and were not let-go? How could FFCo employ several people to do the same job when the work wasn’t there?

Something needs to happen in FFCo or else it will fold and people in PrivateCo will also suffer. Striking is not the answer. In order to keep afloat, I know a company that done the following:

They assessed their staff and it was unfortunate, but some had to go as they had no current work for them and nothing incoming to put them on.
They reduced some staffs working hours to what was affordable.
The company cut all company pension contributions to 1% until we are out of the recession. Once things are better, it will be restored to pre-recession levels.

I think the above is perfectly acceptable. Employees can still put in as much as they can to their fund but the company can’t afford to keep up their payments. Again simple economics – money out does not exceed money coming in. If people didn’t accept the company would have to close or else make more people redundant.

One last point I would like to make before outlining my solution to the problem is this. FFCo workers work a 35-hour week. PrivateCo workers work a 40-hour week. When the recent ERSI report was released, did it adjust for this? Earning €30k for 35-hours means a higher wage than €30k for 40-hours.

To help ease the overall pain and keep FFCo in business, I feel the following are something’s that FFCo needs to do:

Reduce pension contributions down for everybody in FFCo down to 1%. Make a deal for it to be reviewed on a 6 or 9 month basis. Once the country is out of recession AND making money start to increase again over a period of time. All new staff in FFCo should not get a pension by default but rather only after 1 year.
Increase FFCo workers from 35 to 40 hours per week in line with PrivateCo. No extra pay for this. This is a form of benchmarking as well.
We can’t reduce the Frontline staff in hospitals, schools, special needs assistants, fire service, paramedics, etc. We need these areas to be staffed correctly to ensure the country remains safe and in health. But, maybe look at rotas, staffing etc. Could there be some efficiency here?
Look at the admin staff in FFCo. In order to keep people of the live-register full time, reduce some working hours. When the HSE merged how were people not let go? We can’t afford full-time dole payments but we could endure some people on 3 days a week rather than 5 as the dole is less than wages.
Offer time-in-lieu instead of overtime.
Entice job-sharing with those staff that are close to retirement or would like more time off. I’m sure some FFCo employees would like to work less hours.
Review job objectives, targets, etc for all FFCo employees and these staff need proper reviews with their departments results made public. In a call-centre in PrivateCo, if more calls come in then employees will take more calls. In FFCo it appears that you are told you’ll have to wait longer for an answer. I’m not saying hugely increase targets but are they ever increased.
We can’t increase taxes or reduce wages anymore. FFCo not making contributions to your pension is NOT a reduction in wages.
The child benefit should be means tested based on your net income AFTER you have paid everything per month. Not on your gross salaries added together. You should be asked to show 12 month evidence of your mortgage payments, loans, monthly donation to charities and how much you need to live per month for food and bills. You should also have a realistic amount of money for savings. After that if you have more than XX amount you don’t get child benefit.
Reduce VAT by to 1% lower than the previous version. Encourage people to spend a bit more.
Banks won’t give a mortgage to people if they have loads of re-possessed houses on their books at their own cost. FFCo to set up a house-based Bank or set up a dept within each bank we’ll call BankCo. People are in serious debt at the moment with some struggling to make payments. Anyone can apply – with all necessary evidence (letters stating they have been made redundant or on reduced hours, banks statements, proof of loans and mortgage etc – to have their mortgage transferred to BankCo. BankCo reduces the mortgage payments they pay each month to what is affordable (judged and agreed by BankCo and the mortgage payers) but the amount of interest currently being paid is still paid to the main bank. This means the main bank still makes money, people keep their houses and will deduce rental assistance payments being made to those out of work and kicked from their homes and now renting. Your home can still repossessed I f you don’t make the payments you agreed to. Once the recession slows down and you are back on your feet your mortgage is moved from BankCo to the previous holder with the previous payments happening again. Just to note, the length of your mortgage is not reduced so at some stage you will have to pay what you were unable to pay during the recession.
Finally, chase those people who have got or wasted taxpayers’ money such as FAS, etc., and received redundancy. The mismanagement of FAS is tantamount to gross negligence or gross misconduct with our money. They should be fired with no handshakes. They take what they have right now and leave.

These are just some of my views on the situation. I’ll leave with one item that is really bugging me. People like Peter McLoone and weirdy-beardy Jack O’Connor keep going on about the Unions helping the ordinary people on the frontline keep their jobs. We need to stop concentrating on your Joe Soap FFCo employee and chase the developers and bankers that brought the country to its knees. The same people, of which, some are your members? Why should we trust Unions whose members are also responsible? The same FAS company which McLoone was a member off and sat idly by watching the ‘due-process’ take place when he could have stopped millions being wasted by intervening earlier?

He's Electric

2009-09-30T22:39:00.003+01:00

Picture taken at Electric Picnic. Just like it.

Date: 30th August 2008
Camera: Sony Cybershot 7.2 mega pixels
Settings: Automatic settings

Missing headlight in the sky

2009-09-25T14:56:00.005+01:00

Picture taken on the road to Dingle. Quality not great but something either eerie or soothing about it.

Date: 14th April 2007
Camera: Sony Cybershot 7.2 mega pixels
Settings: Automatic settings

Lonely

2009-09-23T15:32:00.003+01:00

Photo taken on Dollymount Strand.

Date/Time: 12th July 2008, 18:58
Camera: Sony Cybershot 7.2 mega pixels
Settings: Automatic settings

Public Sector Pay...why o why

2009-09-22T16:06:00.001+01:00

Saw a story in the Irish Independent on a survey done on Public v Private sector pay in Ireland. As always, its disgusting. Every month a 'senior' union representative is on the radio going on about parity of pay against private sector or how they are hard done by the recent Government budget etc.

Crap. Rubbish. Total bolloxs.

According to this report, on average a standard employee in Public sector earns around 25% more than their equivalent in the Private sector. What is more galling, is that someone who just graduated from college/uni earns around a-third more. Yes, they get circa 31% more as a starter salary compared to private workers.

Over the last 10 years all we heard from the unions is to make the pay equal. Mr X in Public Job earns 10% less in base salary than My Y in Private Job. That they should earn the same. However, take all the perks and, more importantly, the job stability into account, and Public always earn more. In Private sector you have to EARN you wages. I've heard too many stories directly from people in the Public sector to know that its about time it was run as a business as it costs too much. Targets and objectives are essentially non existent. Remember this letter from a 'poor civil servant'??

I'm all on for the pay cuts. Give them the parity they so desperately crave. Bring the wages back in line, but not all cuts I agree with.

Money has to be spent on health. There have been too many cuts so far and our health system is going down the tube. Here are some examples:

- Last week my 2-year-old nephew was in for an operation (nothing serious). However, it took over 1.5 hours to get a porter to wheel him from theatre to recovery. Due to staff cuts (which the HSE and Jabba the Hut refuse to acknowledge are actually happening) it took that long to get a porter.

A friend of my sisters has cysts on the brain. Shes been waiting since July for a referral. She has no idea when she'll know when she'll be seen.
My cousin was on the holiday-work visa in Oz. He damaged his knee (cartilage) playing football. He had a scan and diagnosis out there and knows what needs to be done. He had to come home early from his trip as he couldn't work out there and couldn't afford to stay. He's been told it could be another 8/9 months before he is seen over here. To be told what he has from specialists from Oz. They wont take the diagnosis from the Oz doctors here and will have to have the exact same tests and scans done again. And in the meantime he's not sure what to do and his knee could be done for life. He's 24. He's seriously thinking about going private but the costs could be huge.
A friends child has grommets which affects speech. They are waiting for this to be sorted. They've been told, by a specialist, that they need to get this fixed before the child is 4 or 5 otherwise the child will need to go to speech therapy - therapy which the State pay for. The mad thing is, its cheaper to have the operation rather than the speech therapy. Both of which the state pay for. But it seems they would rather take the big cost. Save money Mary??

In my view, nurses and (some) doctors don't deserve pay cuts. Some deserve pay rises. They are crucial to our way of life and in keeping alive. But the state don't see it that way. They need to seriously look at restructuring the entire Health service. I'm sure there are many, many admin staff who are not needed. I'm sure there are better roster structures to look at. I'm sure there are better and more efficient ways to treat people. But instead it's widespread salary cuts...but probably not at consultant level.

Something really needs to be done before it becomes a situation where a visit to a hospital could kill ya before curing ya.

Pat Kenny, Frontline

2009-09-22T09:49:00.005+01:00

I watched the first Pat Kenny 'The Frontline' program last night and it was great to see a program that really listened to people and also allowed them time to talk back with their grievances.

One of the gripes I had with 'Question & Answers' was that it was almost too intellectual and never really allowed people time to speak. Questions were asked, the panel answered, but not enough time was spent on, as Joan Burton would say, the ordinary people.

'The Frontline' allowed people to ask their questions, receive answers and they were given time to respond to the answers they received. It was great to see Pat Farrell and Tom Parlon (a man I have so little time for I'd rather spend the afternoon with Alex Ferguson & Gary Neville) squirm in their chairs. Men who assisted in our current financial state. Men who until last night never had to face up to the facts of their members actions.

I agreed with Fintan O'Toole from the Irish Times when he spoke about the NAMA money going into the wrong places. Why is none of the money going to a fund to help people to KEEP their homes if/when their jobs go? The last thing the country needs at present are more houses on the market and the state paying rent for people. The Government, as a large shareholder in the banks, should be making the banks help people restructure mortgages so they are paying less now. People will spend the money saved if they can, and if not it keeps people in their homes and prevents more looking for rent or assistance from the state. Instead Lenihan will bail the banks at the cost of the people.

Fintan O'Toole also stated we should, as a people, be taking to the streets. Other than ourselves and the British, every other European country would be on the streets at this stage looking for Government removal. Fintan, if you set up the movement - they will follow. We need a movement not associated with any political party and instead a people movement is needed.

The only part on the program that disappointed me was at the very end. When Clara asked Brian Lenihan if the people let go from the banks got a golden-handshake and were still getting their pensions he never answered and wasn't pushed to answer. We deserve an answer and if they were given golden-handshakes (like the outgoing counsellors were) then why? If some are no longer working and still getting paid a pension then why? If they only got the pension part they 'earned' then fair enough.

Finally, Pat just got it slightly wrong with his final point to Brian Lenihan. He said the Minister will be remembered one way or the other:
- The man who saved the banks and saved the economy.
- The man who broke a generation.

I think its more:
- The man who saved the banks and saved the economy.
- The man who broke a few generations.
- The man who saved the banks and forgot about the people.

I can feel the summer breeze

2009-08-26T17:46:00.003+01:00

"So, what ye up to for the summer then? "
What’s this about summer I hear you say?
"Well, according to Sky Sports, the BBC, ITV and RTE the Premiership season is over so it must be May and hence summer is on the way."
What?
"Well, Spurs are Champions on goal difference from Chelsea. Liverpool are in mid table. Man Utd have their worst season in a long time and Everton are relegated."

All this is true if you believe the utter, utter rubbish sensationalism that all are portraying after only three games. In these three games Liverpool have lost twice and therefore have no hope of winning the league. Yes, we are a huge six points of Chelsea, three of Man Utd and since we are three ahead of Everton they have no hope of catching us and therefore are already down. And Burnley are in the UEFA cup (sorry, Europa League).

What has happened to the world? Why is everything – in this case nine month’s worth of football – judged on only a few days of time? Why has everything become a must win, a must-not lose, a must-do-something-or-be-damned? Why? What happened to logical and reasonable debate? And basing an opinion on a good sample of statistics and information.

This morning Sky had a poll asking it Liverpool could still win the league. As it stands, after three games, they are on three points, six points off the leaders – a HUGE six points which makes every one of the remaining 35 games a must-win. Based on last season, we are one point worse off than against the same opposition. Last season Liverpool lost 2 games and only came second and therefore, in the ‘top’ *cough* pundits eyes if they lose one more the league is gone. Even if they beat Stoke away, Hull at home, and match every other result of last season. That would give them three points more than last seasons total. Utd could lose to Arsenal on Saturday, Liverpool beat Bolton and go level on points with Utd - would that mean Utd are also out of the title race?

To be perfectly honest, all this ‘in the moment reaction’ is actually driving me away from the game. I get deeply frustrated at listening to so-called experts talk during a match as most talk utter, utter drivel. Most commentators are no better. Andy Gray continually gives out about zonal marking yet Liverpool have conceded less goals from set pieces over the last 4 seasons compared to any of the other clubs – yes, less than Utd who do man-marking and yet they never get chastised. Every single moment of a game is analyised and soon we will have the "Title Deciding" weekends. In October. Yawn.

With Alonso gone, it’s obvious to see Liverpool are struggling a bit but anyone who has ever played or followed football knows you can’t take a crucial part out of a team and not suffer a bit at the start. Most ‘experts’ (a loose term) blame Rafa for selling Alonso but what could he do? Alonso asked to leave – he handed in a transfer request – so the choice was not Rafa’s. Most pundits still refuse to remember last summer when Alonso was for sale and no-one came in for him – one excellent season later and he’s worth over £30m. Again, a poor reflection of the times we live in when one good year does that. Personally, I’ve always loved watching Alonso play, his passing and eye for a shot from 60 yards are a pleasure to behold. But he never scored many goals for a midfielder. When he arrived first he was very good, got injured for a few months and finished the season well. The next year he was good, then OK, then average, then excellent. Not exactly consistent really and he was injured a fair bit.

I’ve seen one supposed betting expert say Aquilani is a panic buy. I do wonder how they figure this out. He was watched for some time by Liverpool and indeed they made the first move when before Alonso left – they just didn’t have the money until Alonso left hence why he was bought so quickly afterwards. Again weak journalism, with no facts or knowledge to back up statements. Sir Alex bought Valencia within days of Ronaldo leaving yet this was not a panic buy? Mmm.

It’s not just the pundits that bring this to games. Supporters (or alleged supporters) also join this bandwagon of changing their minds with every game or indeed during games. A few seasons back I was at the Liverpool v Galatasaray game at Anfield in which Crouchie scored that brill scissor kick. I sat beside a fellow Irishman whose opinion on a player changed DURING the game. This player passed lovely and helped set up some chances. He was a god to this supporter beside me. Then, he attempted an audacious pass, which if it came off, had us in for a certain fourth goal. The pass was just slightly under hit; the other team broke and had a chance. Suddenly, the player should be removed from the pitch immediately and never play for Liverpool again. No matter what the player done for the rest of the game it wasn’t good enough for him. I was taught to applaud such skill, cheer the player on so they don’t get down-hearted and be a fan to help the team. Not get on their back at every misplaced pass or mistake – which are inevitable.

Now people who watch sport change their moods frequently; they class supporting a team as watching the match, wearing the newest kit and maybe going to a few games during the season - not supporting their team when they are down or cheering harder when they are losing. I’ve even seen ‘fans’ at Anfield who do not know the words to ‘You’ll never walk alone’ – and I’m not talking about kids here but adults who could not possibly fit anymore gear onto their bodies. And they never sang or cheered the whole match...well done folks. Hope it was worth the trip.

I’d just love a sense of reality to come back into sport. Titles and championships are not decided in a moment. Yes, there are knockout tournaments where one game can make or break you, but you have to get to that stage. You have to consider the whole campaign and not just one game. Sport is about a season and following your team until the end – and not just for three games.

So, you off anywhere nice for summer?

Cup...Up

2009-08-20T09:58:00.003+01:00

I used to have this poster on my desk at work 'till my Egyptian boss asked for it to be removed. not sure why...it kept great control on Mulley.

Safety is our primary concern.

2009-08-13T11:26:00.002+01:00

Honestly it is !

Ducks rock.

Beer is your friend

2009-08-13T11:26:00.000+01:00

You know it is, go on.

Plug time: Got the beer kit from here and its only magic - http://www.thehomebrewcentre.com/

Is there anything it cant do?

2009-08-12T13:06:00.002+01:00

What I'd love tonight....

Father Collins Park, Clongriffin

2009-08-12T12:57:00.004+01:00

On 27th May, Irelands first wholly sustainable park opened near my gaf - Father Collins Park in Clongriffin (near Donaghmede). I have to say its fantastic and gets great use from all around. Some pics below and click here to see where on Google maps it is.

..and one day they will.

2009-08-12T10:21:00.003+01:00

Found this in my archives. Took this when they were doing up the O2 a good while back. Check out the monkey in the background. Deadly.

I love monkeys.

Blast from the past Friday

2009-07-31T09:50:00.002+01:00

Thank you

Hats off to Irish Rail

2009-06-12T17:24:00.003+01:00

In the past, I've been very tough on Irish Rail and I think it was with good cause in most cases. But in the last two weeks I've been to Galway twice and I have to applaud them for a very enjoyable trip each time.

Both trips I've managed to bag Carraige A (supposed to be First Class) but isn't really. The carraiges on these new trains are very comfy and with power points in them it makes laptop usage easy.

However, the real reason for totally applauding them, is their handling of an incident on the train today. A fella sat opposite to me and from the moment he sat down until he was removed from the train he was a bundle of trouble to all the other passengers. But how he was dealt with by the staff was first class and ensured that the other passengers suffered no further. The issue was dealt with very quietly and efficiently.

Hats off Irish Rail and especially to the ticket inspector who was excellent throughout.

Glendalough

2009-06-05T21:09:00.006+01:00

Some piccies from a trip to Glendalough last year..

Dollymount Strand, Dublin

2009-06-05T18:47:00.005+01:00

Here are pictures I took on Dollymount Strand last summer (with the good weather of the last week I remembered these).

There are always kite surfers down there and its definitely something I'd love to try.

Howth head

2009-04-16T14:17:00.002+01:00

Took this pic mid December last year at 8ish in the morning. Its on the coast road near Sutton and its of Howth Head. Took it with my Sony Ericsson K850i camera phone.

Saw many morning like this..really nice.

Happy Van

2009-04-15T23:20:00.001+01:00

Took this pic last September outside work. Love it...check the door.

Dear blog

2009-04-15T21:38:00.003+01:00

Dear blog,
its been a while since I last paid you some attention. I could feel you waiting, wanting me to come by and see you but I ignored your calls. I am desperately sorry its taken so long to get back to you, but now I think I can pay you the attention you deserve.

So many people between the last post and this one have stopped blogging and their blog is now a sad place. Previously places full of laughter and sadness, joy and sorrow, and fun and no fun are now desolute places. I'm sure there is a place where blogs go to 'rest' but not for you.

You have been in bloggy home for a good while and its time now to take you out of that home, dust you down and bore the flucking pants of people.

Yes blog, become my voice again and let me rant with no apparent direction or composition.

Thanks for waiting,

Steve.

Org Chart..

2009-01-29T13:26:00.005Z

Saw this on a van on Tuesday:

Wonder are they part of an Umbrella-ella-ella organisation?

A weba wooba woo awards

2008-10-14T20:43:00.003+01:00

It's been a while since I blogged. Not out of boredom or anything just that I'm mad busy at work and dont get any real time to blog there. And then after spending so much time concentrating on the computer, pc leisure time doesnt appeal.

But anywho thought I'd say echo the sentiments of everyone else and say well done Mulley on a great night last Saturday at the first Irish Web Awards. They were top notch and as the Moviestar.ie lads said, its the way to run award ceremonies. None of this prawn cocktail shite at other awards.

Its amazing how the little things make a difference. The Moviestar lads wreaking my DVD pyramid for something much more interesting and dangerous, trying to put up the sponsors details on the photo board along with Ryan and the big W's on stage. As well as Damien fecking up the presentation, Brian's t-shirt, being Rickrolled and the cupcakes. Yes, the Fat Bastard Mulley awards will live on.

It was great to meet so many heads again that I must have talked drunk nonsence to at the last Bloscars as people knew me! Feck..

See ye all at the next Blog Awards in 'Cark' and well done again Damien.

Jebus - The Musical

2008-08-26T17:23:00.001+01:00

Jebus the Musical - Enjoy

It is painful...but it's OK to feel

2008-08-21T12:45:00.003+01:00

To be honest, I wasn't 100% sure about whether to post this or not but it's good to talk. I feel that sometimes its easier to put things down on paper/pc rather than talk as you can express yourself a bit more with blubbering away.

Last year was shit. It really was. Shit. Yes, some good things happened and some great things happened, but personally it was shit.

To start with my job was made, how shall I say while trying to be PC and avoid the lawyers, 'redundant'. The company decided that the role I occupied was no longer required. The decision, I found out later, was made in January but instead of letting me know they took away, bit by bit, by job - handing it out to others. Then in early July I had a call, after sending another email asking for an explanation, stating my job was gone and they made me an offer I couldn't accept. How can you trust a company that does that? I had to move on.

One settlement later and I was a hobo. Being a hobo is cool but I'll talk about that another time. However being a hobo turned out to be a godsend for what happened then.

For the August bank holiday weekend in '07, my wife, two friends and myself went on the Shannon for the weekend. It was great. What made it even better was the fact the before we went we done the necessary tests and confirmed that we were gonna be parents. As excited as we were, we couldn't tell anyone and had a ball of a weekend.

Arriving back in Cork, my wife went to the docs on the Wednesday and confirmed that all was OK and we were indeed going to have an ickle one. That week, we had a call from my little bro to advise that he and his good lady were also pregnant. When we worked out dates, they would be having the baby a week before us in March. Over the next week or so family and friends were told to share in our joy.

Two weeks later things went pear shaped.

On a lovely Monday night, we sat in bed looking at a baby-names book my brother had bought as a joke the previous Christmas. Some names in it I wondered about as in how someone could call their child that. But each to their own. The next day my wife said something wasn't right and she went to the docs. I had an appointment and she wasn't worried enough to require me to go with her. Then I got a call and I rushed to collect her and bring her to Cork University Hospital for further tests. At 4pm our worst fears were realised and it was confirmed we had lost the baby. The scan showed nothing.

And I don't think anything can prepare you for that. Our families and friends knew we were expecting and so calls had to be made. That was tough.

We had to go back in on the Wednesday for the necessary tests and my wife was in until Saturday morning. It was a long few days. I cant praise highly enough the staff in the hospital who were brilliant to us and looked after us well. Although they see this type of thing every day the compassion and help they showed was like your the only one going through it. Also sitting in the hospital each day, sometimes not with my wife as she was resting, and seeing others who had just given birth, or were about to was tough. It was tougher for the fact that we met a couple we know and they had just had a lovely baby boy - and you cant dampen their spirits as you have no right to. Its still hard to smile though.

The next week was no easier. Luckily being a hobo meant I could spend time with my wife making sure she was OK. You lie there thinking about it. Thinking about what might have been. A boy? A girl? Do you care - no! How many other couples go through this? We know a few and they had children afterwards no worries. Statistics say that nearly half of all first pregnancies end in miscarriages but statistics have no feelings and are only bare figures - and it doesn't make it easier. Slowly the realisation comes in that in 8 or 7 months you wont be a parent. You realise that your sister is due in one month and you have to be happy for her and you are - you truly are but its tough. You realise that you wont have a child a week younger than your brother come next March and that you wont have a child at all come that time.

Nothing can prepare you. In a matter of minutes your decorating their room in your head and then there's no room. Just an empty space.

All you can do is hope that next time its better. Next time all will be OK. A year later and its still sore but this has been a good year so far and only getting better. It's funny how your subconscious acts - you are thinking about it without realising its a year. The year is suddenly upon you.

But its OK to be sore so you can enjoy the good times even more. And there will be good times.

College Fees

2008-08-13T16:14:00.004+01:00

The whole debate on college fees seems to have reared its head again this week with Batman insinuating that he wants them back in. For me, free education is a must but what I dont like are the arguements coming from the knobs that run the Union on Students in Ireland (I always thought they were knobs).

They are saying that its already tight enough for students and adding fees will only mean that less people can afford to go to college.

Bollox.

I left college in June 1996. Only 12 years ago.

We had no mobile phones. Only those working in very well paid jobs or that came from well-enough of families had cars. We only bought clothes when we needed them. We drank cheap shite at home before going out and only went to clubs that had student offers. We could rarely afford to go out on Saturday nights, you had TV via a clothes hanger and usually there were 5 or more to a 2-bed flat. Getting your hair cut once a month was a huge treat (if indeed you done it once a month and even then it was done during cheapo times and in cheapo places). And the inside of a coffee shop was like visiting the Starship Enterprise as you had as much chance of going to both. We ate spuds and bolognese 7 days a week.

Now new clothes are an absolute with image being paramount and therefore new hair when required. Theres not enough room in the carparks for all the cars (and the insurance, tax, petrol, maintenance that goes with them) for the students. They are getting so leathered out drinking that we have new closing and serving times (apparently its the young's fault). And they all have mobile phones and therefore probably a new one each year and around €20 per week on credit?

Dont tell me they have no money. Dont tell me that adding some fees will stop people going to college. If they give up their cars - get up earlier and walk or use public transport - then we solve some traffic issues in cities and it also saves them some money. Give up their mobiles or use less frequently then there would be more money. But dont tell me they have no money.

In 1996, the grant was about £160 per month. My rent was £25 per week to share a bedroom with one other, in a 5 bed house (8 of us all in). I had £60 per month for food, travel (college in Carlow, from Donegal) once a month and going out. My parents gave me about £40 per month once the summer money I had earned had run out and so all in all, I had about £100 to live on.

I wonder how students would get buy on this and to give an idea I decided to see how much that is worth nowadays and took the price of Guinness as the basis for inflation.

According to this site, the average price of Guinness in 1996 was €2.50 and in 2007 it was €4.03. That means an adjustment of 62%.

Covert £100 to Euros using 1.23 as the exchange rate (what it was when we changed from punts to euros) and that gives us €123. Multiply by inflation gives €199 or about €50 per week.

Is that do-able with a once a month bus ticket worth €40 removed from the funds?? It cost around €25 per week for food to cover breakfast, lunch and dinner. That leaves about €50 per month for recreational items...its tough - right?

Anyone up to the challenge???

Appreciate "That Look"

2008-08-12T20:57:00.004+01:00

I cant admit to being a daily reader or, as you have noticed, a daily blog poster but every so often blog posts arrive that hit you like a ton of bricks. They truly take your breath away. For me, its not the posts on how to blog, or the posts on how people should live their lives, or the ones that give a great insight into court cases or current affairs, but rather the ones that let you see a little into the soul's of other bloggers - the ones that for a short period of time connect you to them.

These posts when you read them also resonate with you. Somethings switches on inside of you that says, "hey, I can identify with this". They sort of wake something inside of you that maybe you were not even aware was dormant. Maybe they help you remember a part of your life that you not necessarily had forgotten, but rather pushed to your subconscious.

I'm always amazed that some of these people will be so open with their feelings and emotions and also not be anonymous. It's fantastic that they will let complete strangers know what their feeling and thinking and yet be totally at peace in themselves in doing so.

Some others, while not using real names, are not necessarily anonymous either as you kinda feel you know them, or at least you think you do, but still you admire them for taking the time to write it down.

A few days ago a lovely, lovely post was written by K8 the GR8 about going to a musical recital with her son. I think everyone that read it shed a tear in happiness - well I know I did. I think we can all identify with a time in our lives when someone so close and so special to us gave us that look. I'm not sure the person giving the look can totally understand what happens inside you when that happens unless of course they too have experienced it. And everyone should. It's one of those times when you can truly say "I'm alive and I love it". These situations are what makes life so great and so worth living. I know that I've felt it at times with my lovely wife (the patient woman she is). Your heart really goes racing 100 miles an hour, you know there's only one place to look and your almost paralysed, unable to move as you don't want to break that moment. You want it to go on and on.

It's also like the time when my godson was at that age when babies start to recognise faces and voices other than Mum and Dad. He looked up and smiled with his mouth, his eyes and his demeanour to say he recognised me. It's a fantastic feeling and you want to have that each time you meet but the you think will it be as special? It doesn't matter, you had it at least once.

Then you have the posts like Grannymar's from April regarding the passing of her husband some 10 years ago. This also strikes a cord as everyone has experienced someone really close to them pass away and it brings back the hurt from that sad occasion. You remember where you were when you heard, what you done to help with the arrangements, but what I always remember at funerals are the laughs and fun I had with the person. I know they would prefer to be remembered that way rather than the last few days you saw them.

But posts like Grannymar's are important. Not everyone can open up and write these feelings down. Not everyone can express how they felt in those hard times and so these posts help - maybe someone reading can identfy with the sentiments and use it to get over their grief. It may act as a form of counselling as they have someone that they can identify with who, know, has gone through the same as them. They are not alone.

These posts when your reading them also help to make you cast a thought to a loved one that's passed away and give them a thought, a smile, or a laugh at how you remember them - how often do we think of deceased friends in our busy lives? But more to the point, these posts might help you to appreciate right now, and forever, the looks that you get that K8 is talking about. I know I will.

Ladies, I salute you and thank you.

Work

2008-08-08T14:57:00.003+01:00

The last few weeks have been a bit slow at work. Lots of the people working on the contract with us are on holliers and things natually slow down during the summer.

Today is a particularly slow day. It started well and I worked away from the first few hours but now the day is dragging. It could be safe to saw that I'll work for a total of around 3 hours today and that's all.

Now I know what it feels like to work in the Civil Service on a permanent basis.

When lawsuits go bad

2008-08-06T13:06:00.001+01:00

Just saw this story on Soccernet regarding a recent lawsuit in Italy.

Italian football giants Inter Milan had to pay damages to a rival fan for "existential harm".

Can open....worms everywhere.

Food, God and the devil‏

2008-08-05T15:26:00.003+01:00

Got this from a friend and probably so did everyone elser but it's worth the read..

And God created......
In the beginning God covered the earth with broccoli, cauliflower and spinach, with green, yellow and red vegetables of all kinds so Man and Woman would live long and healthy lives.
Then using God's bountiful gifts, Satan created Dairy Ice Cream and Magnums. And Satan said, 'You want hot fudge with that? And Man said, 'Yes!' And Woman said, 'I'll have one too with chocolate chips'. And so they gained 10 pounds.

And God created the healthy yogurt that woman might keep the figure that man found so fair.
And Satan brought forth white flour from the wheat and sugar from the cane and combined them. And Woman went from size 12 to size 14.

So God said, 'Try my fresh green salad'.
And Satan presented Blue Cheese dressing and garlic croutons on the side. And Man and Woman unfastened their belts following the repast.

God then said 'I have sent you healthy vegetables and olive oil in which to cook them'.
And Satan brought forth deep fried coconut king prawns, butter-dipped lobster chunks and chicken fried steak, so big it needed its own platter, and Man's cholesterol went through the roof.

Then God brought forth the potato; naturally low in fat and brimming with potassium and good nutrition.
Then Satan peeled off the healthy skin and sliced the starchy centre into chips and deep-fried them in animal fats adding copious quantities of salt. And Man put on more pounds.

God then brought forth running shoes so that his Children might lose those extra pounds.
And Satan came forth with a cable TV with remote control so Man would not have to toil changing the channels.

And Man and Woman laughed and cried before the flickering light and started wearing stretch jogging suits.

Then God gave lean beef so that Man might consume fewer calories and still satisfy his appetite.
And Satan created McDonalds and the 99p double cheeseburger.

Then Satan said 'You want fries with that?' and Man replied, 'Yes, and super size 'em'. And Satan said, 'It is good.'

And Man and Woman went into cardiac arrest.God sighed ......... and created quadruple by-pass surgery.
And then ............ Satan chuckled and created the National Health Service.

Ouch..

2008-08-04T20:45:00.001+01:00

My liver and kidneys hurt.

Polish weddings, while being great, are tough on the oul internal organs. Some amount of vodka can be drunk at these things..and was.

Ouch!

Weddingski Polski

2008-07-31T18:18:00.002+01:00

So tomorrow morning we're heading to a wedding in Poland. T'will be my first one:
*sob*
*tears*
* thanks to Jebus and my great grandparents for making this happen*

Heading to a place called Czestochowa which is here:

View Larger Map

Apparently there will be two bottles of Vodka per person...which is nice. And it also means I probably wont know me name let along blog this weekend.

Enjoy the long weekend and chat to ye all next week..have a good one!

I hate smoking

2008-07-29T21:53:00.003+01:00

There I've said it.

I hate smoking. I really, really do. I always have hated it. When I was young my Dad, who was a smoker of Major, would light up and I'd open all windows and doors regardless of what time of year to 'air' the place. I used to tell him that he could kill himself but not to kill me. I harassed him until he stopped because of an ad that used to be on TV.

The ad showed a Dad in the back garden smoking and coughing. The young daughter looked up the coughing in a book and showed it to her Dad and it was about lung cancer. That struck a chord with me and I didn't want my Dad dying like that.

I just find it amazing that in this day and age people start smoking with the dangers that are there. It really amazes me. It's just such a horrible thing in my mind. I always say that I have no trouble with anyone doing anything as long as it doesn't affect me. And smoking does.

I was down on Dollymount Strand on Sunday and Monday and there were people smoking. No problems as its out in the open and the smoke wasn't near me as I could avoid it. Put they threw their butts in the sand. You think that's OK? Its dirty.

Smokers in the main are also unbelievably selfish and its a very selfish addiction. I got off the Dart the other morning and no sooner had everyone got off and some people sparked up literally as they stepped off the train. And didn't care where their smoke went. People will quite happily blow smoke anywhere. Well I don't want the smoke in my face but I had no fucking choice in the matter. As I had to walk the way they were going to leave the platform.

I've seen people get of the dart and smoke as they walk through the station with the fag lit up. But that's OK in their minds as they are only in walking through and not stopping. Bullshit.

I know people will come on here and have a go but I don't care. I hate smoking. If I ever ruled the world I'd ban it. It's disgusting. If it didn't affect me then shoot but smoke goes everywhere and the smell of people who smoke is foul.

You try to walk into pubs/shops/restaurants/clubs or anywhere nowadays and there are people outside smoking and you have to walk through veils of smoke to get in. It gets on your clothes, in your hair, on your skin and more importantly in your veins.

So please go ahead and kill yourself but leave me alone.

Sunscreen...

2008-07-29T21:51:00.002+01:00

Question: In hot countries, how much more per year do people with convertibles spend on sunscreen?

Coldmeeeeppp

2008-07-25T18:40:00.002+01:00

Saw this on Ricks' blog and laughed out loud.

Then found this:

Happy weekend!

I have a theory..

2008-07-22T19:31:00.002+01:00

I recently heard on the radio that the ESB are going to raise their prices again and are blaming it on rising oil prices (as they usually do).

Homes now have to be built to a certain insulation standard. People are putting new insulation in their houses and pumping their cavities. Attic insulation is being installed and people are turning their temperatures down a degree or two to save money.

So where do the ESB make up this loss of revenue? They up the prices. Dirty feckers...

Irish view on the US Election

2008-07-17T17:05:00.002+01:00

Leave it to the Irish to bring some needed clarity to the US election:

"We, in Ireland , can't figure out why you are even bothering to hold an election in the United States .

On one side, you have a witch who is a lawyer, married to a lawyer, running against a lawyer who is married to a witch who is a lawyer.

On the other side, you have a war hero married to a good looking rich woman who owns a beer distributorship. What are you lads thinking over there?"

Who says men cant multitask!!

2008-07-16T22:34:00.000+01:00

Pooing and reading blogs rocks...

Rooski, Co. Roscommon..

2008-07-10T22:47:00.002+01:00

Took this pic while on the Shannon this year.
I like it and nothing has been adjusted.

Crowded House

2008-07-10T22:08:00.002+01:00

A few weeks back, my wife and myself headed for the Crowded House concert in the Ambassador in Dublin. To be honest, other than their chart music I know nothing about Crowded House. I have never listened to any album and I would admit to not liking them as an ex-flatmate in college played Tim Finn stuff non stop.

However, they were fab. Really fab. They are excellent performers and actually looked like they were enjoying themselves on stage. They interacted really well with the crowd (which was not a sell out by any means) and really buzzed of the intimate atmosphere.

They played all the classics and even played some Police music on a Cello that was at the side of the stage. Now, I'm a fan.

However, there was one thing that really did annoy me. And that was people talking.

There were these 5 people behind us who talked almost non stop for the entire concert. The little fat chick seemed to think that people came to hear her and not the band. She talked, and talked and laughed very loudly and talked again. She was so fuckin irritating it wasn't funny. Once she went "Oh I love this song" and stopped talking for about 5 seconds after that comment.

I suppose some smart arse will come on and say why didn't I move but why should I? It just shows that some people have more money than sense. Three of the five had their backs turned to the stage for most of the concert so really you have to ask why go? Do people really have €60 odd to throw away to go out for a chat and a few beers? That's just wrong. There were loads of people around us who were all listening to the band and these people annoyed them - you could see with the stares that were being thrown in their direction. These people also placed themselves in the middle of the crowd and not an an extremity and so annoyed the maximum amount of people.

You are tits. Please fuck off and never go to concerts again unless you plan on actually giving the band some respect by listening to them.

Still, the band were great (did I say that already?) and would love to see them again. Now off I go to get some of their music...

Cameras

2008-05-22T21:20:00.003+01:00

Just charging the oul digital camera at the moment for the weekend and got to thinking about the cameras I have.

I have one these (Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W35) for the loads of pics days:

I have one of these because I never owned a "proper" camera and got it as a wedding pressie. But I love it...

And recently I started using this one:

The last camera is from 1973. It belonged to me Mum's Uncle who was a professional photographer at home in Donegal. He has some amazing photographic equipment and even more amazing pictures.

A few years back a selection of his pictures were displayed in Temple Bar at the request of some Museum and are still there. He had everything cataloged so perfectly and in chronological order.

There is just something special about these old cameras. Just using them makes you feel so different with the weight and the care required to take the pic. I also feel like the photographer from The Omen.

Socks

2008-05-12T22:13:00.003+01:00

Oh sweet Jesus. What is it with this new fashion of tucking your trousers into your socks. It's the most ridiculous piece of fashion since leg warmers.

How many days do you get?

2008-05-05T19:26:00.002+01:00

In your job how many self-certified sick days do you get? Two maybe? Three maybe? If your lucky you might get five. Well, if you do get five, spare a thought for those poor, poor nurses or doctors.

Yes, they don't have a limit and can take as many as they want in a year just no more than three in a row or else they have to get a cert. But days in a row are different than other companies. If I am sick on a Friday, have the Saturday and Sunday off shift and am sick again on a Monday that is counted as two days in a row. For nurses its not and its counted as two separate days sick.

I would not like to get sick in Ireland at the moment with the way Jabba the Hut is running the Health Service and with the way the unions are fucking us over.

Never mess with your younger brother

2008-04-28T20:51:00.000+01:00

Man Cold - Its true.

2008-04-18T21:26:00.000+01:00

Boo Hoo

2008-04-18T20:56:00.002+01:00

Just finished reading a book about one the big dot.com collapses ever. The company, boo, was an amazing concept. The whole idea of the company is phenominal.

I have to say when I was given the book I was a tad sceptical. I'm not really into this type of book as my usual staple diet is autobiogs and certain types of fiction. But....read this book.

On the back one of the quotes says that you are "willing them to succeed" when reading it. Normally, regardless of the book, I don't agree with those comments but in this case I did. Really did.

Reading this book makes you want to be an entrepreneur. It makes you wish you were working for and with them at the time. You can't help but be drawn into their world and get lost in the book. I don't know where they got their engergy from. They never seemed to sleep and partied hard. Really, truly awe inspiring.

The only thing wrong was it didn't work out because if it did it may have made things different on the net.

What you waiting for? Go read this book NOW !!

Note to Spanish students

2008-04-15T21:33:00.003+01:00

Can you please stop congregating at the bottom of stairwells, on steps, at entrances to buildings that are in use, in front of train doors when you get off, at bus stops stopping people getting on & off buses and at other places where other people need to get to.

Please.

96 we wont forget

2008-04-15T08:21:00.003+01:00

Today is the nineteenth anniversary of the Hillsborough disaster where 96 Liverpool fans lost their lifes at a football match.

To this day no-one has been brought to justice or identifed as being accountable for this disaster.

YNWA.

Star Wars Canteen

2008-04-14T08:52:00.001+01:00

Funniest thing I've seen in a long time..

Can you be Bertie?

2008-04-03T10:44:00.002+01:00

Can you hack all the paps?
Can you take the flack for Mary Harney's fuck ups?
Will you back Mary Hanafins shite educational decisions and knowledge?
Can you put up with Brian Cowen's cologne next to you?

If you answer yes to this then apply for the job:

Check it out.

Good Friday, Bad Saturday

2008-03-22T21:47:00.002Z

I'm here now, just about alive again. Friday turned into a very good Friday at a house party that was mighty craic.

Saturday turned into up, eat, drugs, bed, sick, bed, up, eat and then here....not so good.

But at least there are two more days of till work. Ah well...probably see all none of ya on Tuesday.

Easter Thoughts

2008-03-21T16:07:00.003Z

When I was in primary school the teachers were very keen to let you express yourself. Each Friday afternoon after the last break, we were allowed to do whatever we wanted - draw, read, do your homework, whatever.

I loved it as I used to draw maps of countries, draw flags or try and copy pictures from books. The odd time I used to read (mainly because I found a Ghost Story book that shouldn't have been in the school and then hid it each week from other prying eyes). Also at Easter, St. Patrick's Day, Christmas and other such holidays (even after Summer) we would draw pictures of the events or make things and have them hung around the school.

One Christmas after being bored of drawing the same old stable scene that everyone else draws every year, I decided to draw something different. I made a storyboard of the Christmas story from Mary and Joseph heading to Bethlehem right through to them legging it to Egypt. The storyboard was about 20 -25 cells but each picture was a silhouette rather than full content. I just thought it was better looking for what I wanted, but also because I was allowed to use a black pen for the drawings rather than use pencil, markers and crayons like everyone else.

It turned out really well - if I do say so myself - and was hung in a prominent position in the school and looked good. The shadow effect made it look better and there were no words on the pictures which added to it. The teachers loved it and some of the lads in the class thought it was cool.

And so it came to Easter. I thought that I would do the same sort of thing but rather than tell the story of Easter I would take one part of the story and make another shadow-effect drawing. I had to choose a part of the story that on-one else would draw. No one could see it until I was finished and I was left at it. On Holy Thursday I gave the drawing to the teacher very happy with the outcome except she didn't think so.

Most others drew Jesus rising from the dead or the stone removed from the tomb with the chicks chilling outside. Some drew the Last Supper or the lads all having a hooliy on the Mount of Olives.

I drew Judas hanging himself with the pieces of silver on the ground and had only Judas in the picture. I got a rap on the knuckles with a ruler and was given out to by the teacher. The picture was sent home to my parents with a note attached saying they weren't happy bunnies about the picture.

Needless to say the picture wasn't hung up and was never talked about again. I was 10 at the time. And you know something? I'd draw it again if went back in ages. I just think that sometimes you have to let children's minds wander, explore and use their imagination. There is too much conforming today and less individuality.

Or maybe not. Either way, I don't care and it is one of the pictures that I am most proud of even though I won prizes for other pics.

What is the right thing to do?

2008-03-21T11:12:00.001Z

I was watching Sky News over the last few days and they were getting very heated over the arrival of a convicted paedophile from Australia. This fella, Raymond Horne, moved to Oz with his family when he was five. At an early age he was convicted of a minor offense but then 12 years ago he was found guilty of something like 14 offenses against children and sent to prison for 12 years.

He was released earlier and the Queensland government decided to deport him as he had never taken Australian Citizenship and therefore was still a British citizen.

Sky were of course building this all up and using every available person to report on it, showing his arrival in England and making it all dramatic. They were asking, in the tone that only Sky news readers can, if he should be allowed back. In all honestly, the man done his time and was being deported as is their right to do. The Oz authorities had noted that the man is high risk and should be monitored at all times. Really everything they done is within international law.

Fair play though in that Sky read out posts from both sides. One post noted that Britain is trying to send prisoners who are not British citizens back to their countries to serve their time and why can't other countries do the same. Another gave out about that fact that Oz had done this but they couldn't. But then Britain is trying to do it under Human Rights law.

Personally I think Oz was well within its rights. The person is not a citizen of theirs and so why should they live in fear with this fella? They have every reason to send Horne back and they did. Britain should just get on with it but then that is just my opinion. I would like to think that I would have the same opinion if the person was Irish and we try and sort it out but then all the kiddie fiddlers here seem to be men of the cloth !

Merry Eastermas..or whatever

2008-03-21T11:07:00.001Z

Easter Egg

2008-03-18T15:43:00.002Z

With Easter around the corner and plenty of egg's on the go here's one for ya....

What Easter Egg do you think you most closely resemble and why??

Ho, ho...ye found me pot of gold..

2008-03-17T21:01:00.001Z

Happy Paddy's Day to all ye beer swilling, kebab eating bolloxes.

Ye are only bolloxes cause Im neither eating or drinking at the moment.

Bolloxes.

Mind yer bags...

2008-03-15T22:07:00.004Z

Was getting off the plane in Dublin on Saturday and watched the dude who unloads the bags take no care whatsoever with them. When I saw him just drop the first few bags from chest level onto the van yoke I thought I would record what he was doing. I know these lads really couldn't care less about our stuff but still...

Puerto Rico - The week in review

2008-03-15T20:44:00.007Z

So, not long back from a lovely relaxing week in Puerto Rico in the Canaries. Had an absolutely great time with my wife and have to say I would defo go back again.

We stayed in the Marina Suites Hotel in Puerto Rico which is just minutes from the town centre and close to everything.

The hotel is very nice and the rooms were fab. Lovely big bedrooms, small kitchenette (although you can only use the oven/hob for max of 10 mins so you can't really cook there). The sitting room area is cool and nice and comfy. Decent size balcony and all rooms look over the pool and ocean or the marina area. I would stay there again.

The town itself if nice and chilled out but I hate the fact that you can't walk past a restaurant without being harassed. It doesn't really endear you to the place especially the way some grab your arm or essentially say "you, come in here". Some were a bit more pleasant and nice about it but still I always think that if you want to eat somewhere then you will go in. We tried a few places but Oscar's Restaurant was really, really nice. Prices are comparable with Ireland but it's worth it for the quality. We ate in one place (and I would suggest to avoid in the future) called Mama Pinu and ordered chicken burgers and chips. Chips were overdone and the burger was a Tesco Value processed chicken burger and was foul.

Other places were alright but in most places the menus were the same; lasagna & chips, steak & chips, pizza, pasta, and other meats...with chips. Quality on the whole wasn't too bad.

Near Puerto Rico is Puerto de Mogan and Amadores. Amadores has a fab beach, which is man made, and some alright little restaurants around. The beach is better than the one in Puerto Rico. Puerto de Mogan is a cool little place with markets. We went there on the Friday on the ferry (€10 return from Puerto Rico) and spent the guts of 4 hours wandering around which was cool. The markets themselves, while they have the inevitable tat, also have some really good stuff and at good prices. You can get pretty much anything and everything and when finished, head for the restaurants and have waffles, magnificent vanilla ice cream, strawberries and fresh cream.

Overall, I would say that it's a good location to go to. It's it Irish Bar's you want there are loads (Flanagans, Maggies, The Harp, The Shamrock...), loads of English Bar's (The Rovers Return, The Queen Vic,..), Norwegian Bar's and loads of typical holiday shops. Food is good and fresh. Lovely cocktail bar called Bacara, lovely bar called Charlie'z and Friends and lovely restaurants. It's only 35 mins from the airport and close to other cool little towns.

Now, time for sleep...

Only a week late but....

2008-03-07T23:11:00.004Z

Well, unlike everyone else I'm a week late with my post about the Irish Blog Awards. I had a really long and tough work week and the thought of spending another hour at the old 'puter was just too much. However I had an absolute blast at the awards.

Damien, hats off again for an even bigger and better show than before. It was truly memorable (before the copious amounts of alcohol).

Alexia, lovely to meet ya and well done for saving the oul technologicallyable side of things.

Rick, great presenting again and too see such a pro shite themselves beforehand is great. I love backstage info.

For everyone else I met thanks for making it a great night and for those that are giving out about it and who won and about it being a back slapping happy event - don't come next year. The event is done arranged by Damien and assisted by volunteers. Money is raised for charity, no one gets paid for it and for that back slapping is well deserved.

Ryan, Annie, Johnny, Conor, Twenty, Sinead, Una, David, Marcus, Steven, Jonathan, Grannymar, Grandad, Niall and all the others than I had the priviledge to meet and chat to thanks for the making the night it was.

And next year ye better take the fluffy drink or else *ggrrrr*. I will update with links at some stage but now Im off to bed as holliers in the mornnnn...wooooo hooooo.

Updated with links

Irish Blog Award Week

2008-02-26T19:57:00.004Z

So this coming Saturday, March 1st, is the 3rd Annual Irish Blog Awards (well I think its the 3rd time). All details can be found on the Official Website but all places are gone. You can still turn up but you might not get a seat.

You should go anyway's as the following may or may not happen allegedly:

- Damien will receive a lifetime achievement award for services to blogging (sponsored by Young Fine Gael)
- Twenty to receive an award for use of the English language (sponsored by Young Christians of Ireland)
- Una to receive an award for hat wearing (sponsored by John Magnier)
- Tom to get an award for support of Irish rugby (sponsored & presented by Eddie O'Sullivan)
- Bock to get the best Limerick blog award (sponsoredby Dolores McNamara)
- Bernie to get the award for award giving & services to award giving (sponsored by Hollywood writers association)
- Bloggorah will get the award for best blog post July - Dec '07 (sponsored by Union of Irish Models)

And the special presenters award to Rick for presenting awards (sponsored by Ray Foley)

Hope everyone enjoys the night.

Where is Matt?

2008-02-18T21:34:00.002Z

This is an old one but it's a good one. The music is top and if after watching this you don't want to travel and see the world there is something wrong with you...enjoy.

Scissor Sisters..

2008-02-15T14:43:00.003Z

Has anyone else noticed that absolute absurdity (is that a word?) of the argument that one of the scissor sisters is putting forward for her appeal against the murder of the Kenyan lad?

Apparently getting a sentence for not only killing someone but cutting them up and throwing their dismembered body into a canal is not right if you will miss out on your children growing up, and, if you reported yourself to the police. It should mean even less of a sentence.

Maybe I'm just old fashioned but I would have thought that killing and cutting up some lad and getting caught should have some damming repercussions? Or maybe not.

One of those chicks is saying that as she gave herself into the Guards that should count for something. Also that with her being locked up inside for 15 years means her 3 children will be all grown up when she gets out. Having a parent, aunt and granny like they have, they could all be reunited quicker than we think or it may be the best thing to happen the children.

Personally, lock em up and throw away the key and good riddance to bad rubbish.

We really don't need people like this on our streets living it up. They chose to do what they did and they should live with it. I'm sure when she was cutting up the fella she was thinking "Oh no, wait. By doing this I will miss out on my children growing up. Let's stop this tomfoolery". Or maybe not.

The mad thing is, it happened after a day on the beer and after taking drugs. They were all at it and then the fella tried it on with one of the sisters (with so much gargle in him I wonder was it the chubby one? Jesus...) and this lead to getting his throat slashed with a stanley knife and then getting his head beaten in.

After the whole thing the mother (seen at the top here) went on the run and is believed to be in London for the last two years. She gave herself up and is in court.

I don't know. Am I being too tough or is that in this PC world of our's people get of to easily for crimes? Lawyers seem hell bent on proving themselves by either sending some to prison and proving it (even if the person aint guilty) or getting them off on a technicality. These two were given 15 years and they should serve them. Whats the old saying? Don't do the crime if you can't do the time. Please let them do the time. And get their kids raised properly. Or send them to those religious freaks in America.

Not long left for Kofi Annan.

2008-02-13T22:00:00.002Z

An unknown terrorist group have targeted UN dude Kofi Annan and placed a bounty on his head.

See below for further details:

Can Ireland get out of the Traps?

2008-02-13T21:04:00.004Z

Today the Football Association of Ireland (FAI) actually, in my mind, made a very good decision. I think the appointment of Giovanni Trapattoni is an excellent decision.

This lad has an excellent CV with 10 league titles in 3 countries and he managed Juventus to their very first European Cup. A very tough feat. He managed some of Juve's top players including Liam Brady, Michel Platini and the Polish lad who was excellent in the 80's. He has led clubs to trophies wherever he has been and the most important thing is he knows how to win.

Some people have been dishing his international record with Italy. It really wasn't that bad. He was done in the 2002 World Cup by some shocking referring. He was unlucky not to qualify from the group in the 2004 Euro's. They were the only team never to qualify with 5 points.

Some say he plays very negative football but so what if we are winning. You have to ask yourself what you would prefer - a 1-0 win away to Cyprus or the 5-2 loss we had? You mightn't get goals in games but he can get results.

We also have to look at the overall picture and the players we have. Personally, I think we have a very weak squad and may struggle to qualify for the World Cup. I think we need to aim for the tournament after that. The first 11 is decent but still weak.

Stephen Kelly is good for the Premiership but he is not good enough for the Irish team. Only Given, Dunne, McGeady, Duff, Ireland and Keane show enough for me to think they are international quality. We have others who are good enough to fill positions like Carsley and Hunt. Kevin Doyle has potential but needs to get a bigger club to prove it. Other than that there are few I can think of that are good enough to drive us through.

More than likely we will get a surprise result like we usually do. Maybe beat Italy at home but I can't see us qualifying to be honest. But in this age of instant results or nothing it won't be enough for the "fans" who will probably boo at any bad performance and we will lose this man. We need more foresight and plan for the future. We have some very good youngsters coming through and we need to prepare for that. We also need to start showing more organisation and be better tactically and the results will follow. But we need time.

We are not the force and nowhere near the force we were under Jack Charlton. Then we had Bonner, McCarthy and Morris from Celtic. Whelan, Houghton and Aldridge from Liverpool. McGrath, Moran and Stapleton from Manure. Brady from Juventus. Now we have a few lads from Reading, a Manure 'utility' player and players from the old 2nd Division in England. Not the same and I wish people would stop comparing.

So I back this decision. Yes it took time but they got it right. They got a good man. And to prepare for the Italy match enjoy this....

NTL

2008-02-13T16:32:00.002Z

Really, need I say more than the title? So many people for so long have been giving out crap loads about NTL and their customer service and so I will add my little tuppence worth me thinks.

It all started last Friday when I arrived home from work at 7.40pm to find that their was nothing happening on the telly. The box at the bottom of the screen which tells you what is on now and what will be on next were frozen at 4pm. This type of crap has happened before and usually switching of the decoder and putting it back on again usually works. This time it asked for an activation Pin which the engineer didn't leave.

Being late and knowing that NTL close at 8pm I called straight away.

At 7.56pm the call gets answered. I gave my name, address and telephone number, as we haven't received out customer number yet, and they verified me. The rest of the conversation went something like this:

"Yes, there is a problem in the Raheny area at the moment. We expect the engineer to be out in the next hour to fix this."

"OK. But can I have the activation pin please so I can check it?"

"I'm sorry, the department that deals in those pins is closed at the moment so we cannot help."

"OK, but when the TV comes back will that message be removed?"

"It might be."

"It might or it will?"

"It may be removed but if not then the other department are open at 9am and they can help. Is there anything else I can help you with?"

"No thanks. Bye"

The TV did not come back that night.

The next morning at about 12pm I decided to check the TV again. The message was still displayed and no sign of it moving. Flucker. So I called NTL again and I must stress that I went through the exact same options as the night before.

"Hi. There was a problem in the Raheny area last night and our picture is still not back. Is the fault still happening?"

"Hang on till I check for you. Nope, it should be resolved."

"Ok, can I get the activation code please for the TV?"

"Yes, one second please. The codes for Dublin are XXX, XXX and XXX. Can you try those please?"

Now none of the codes worked and I went through the reboot process with her (amazing how she had the codes and a collegaue last night couldn't get them?? Another department me hole). None of the codes worked. She advised she would send a signal down the line that might take 15 minutes and to try then. However, she would book and engineer visit just in case to ensure a speedy recovery. This was Saturday morning at 12.20pm. The first available engineer was Wedneday morning. Yup, Wednesday.

What she stated next really startled me to be honest. She told me that 9 times out of 10 when an engineer goes to fix a fault like the previous evening's it usually results in some people losing their reception and NTL need to revisit the location and fix the fault again. Yup, that's what she told me. Can you believe that? Its unreal. Their first time fix rate is shite. Really, really shite.

Anywho TV came back last night at 8.30pm some 4 days after it went down. I was assured that if we noted how long we were without the service we would be refunded in the bill but lets wait and see.

To be honest if there was any other way of getting TV without using NTL or Chorus I would but fucking management companies wont allow dishes to be installed unless it's one of those shared ones. I do wonder what they would do if you installed one on your balcony??

You don't love me, you really don't love me..

2008-02-13T16:24:00.002Z

So, unlike Twenty, Una and Rick I didn't make the shortlist in any category for this years Irish Blog Awards.

However, I will still be there with bells and whistles on. Therefore you should be able to both hear and see me and know who your buying pints for.

If you fancy going you need to register on the website and places are going fast.....

Mock the Week

2008-02-06T10:45:00.001Z

If it's this funny all the time I defo have to watch this:

Lost souls at Pearse Street dart station

2008-02-06T10:45:00.000Z

I love this.

In Pearse St. station there is one of those revolving advertising boards. You know the ones where it has three ad's running on the same board that revolve around in strips. The thing about this one is two of the ad's that are after each other. These is a religious one and an ad for James Blunt's latest album.

What's the connection you say? Well here it is.

The first ad has a religious conontation on it saying:

"The Lord Jesus said:
Unless you repent you too will perish"

The second ad had James Blunt's album 'All the lost souls'. Was this before or after they listened to it?

Reckon this was lost of those who put up the ad's ?

Are stats always accurate? What do they really mean?

2008-02-05T21:20:00.000Z

I get the dart to work each day. Today while departing the train I noticed a sign beside the door stating as follows (not word for work obviously):

During the 3rd quarter of 2007 99% of darts arrived on time and 96% of darts went to schedule. Now, is that 99% of the 96% or is there something amiss?

Also, went they say arrived on time is that arrived at the FINAL station on time or at all stations? The reason I ask this, is that each morning the dart is a different time. I've caught darts scheduled at 11:14 at 11:14, 11:15, 11:17 and 11:19. But it got to Bray on time which is the main thing. The 18:16 train left today at 18:18. See the thing is I get trains at middle stations in Raheny and Sydney Parade. Maybe people want the dart to arrive into Bray, Greystones, Malahide and Howth on time but couldn't care less about the middle stations. In my experience they are rarely bang on time so I really would love Irish Rail to explain their stats.

I know the German's wouldn't put up with this. It acutally reminds me of a story my sister told me about when she lived in Germany. She was at the bus stop outside Karlsruhe and was used to Irish traffic and buses (this is mid 90's as well). On the bus stop it states the time the bus will arrive at each bus stop (unlike Dublin where it tells you what time the bus leaves but nothing else). This is amazing. Anyhow, the bus was 3 minutes later than advertised. A women in her 50's boarded the bus and gave out to the driver for being late and he apologised (can't imagine Dublin bus drivers doing that).

He tried to explain that the road works held up the bus and still admitted he should have been on time. Amazing. Yet look at the crap we put up with in Ireland.

Anyone else notice this??

Oh, and I still blame unions ;)

Are smokers the quickest people on the planet?

2008-02-01T19:11:00.000Z

You may have watched the Men's 100m final in the Olympics. These lads are fast.

You may have seen Fernando Torres, Michael Owen or Ronaldo in action and thought "my, these lads could deliver my domino pizza in under the promised 30 mins given the chance".

But is there anyone in the world faster than a smoker? It never ceases to amaze me how quick these people spark up once they are off a train or bus, outside of work, or outta their car. It is stunning.

Within seconds of getting of the dart in the morning and before we have left the platform there is a sudden haze. It truly is stunning how quick it happens. Don't believe me? Just have a look next time.

Nominated - Yasies

2008-02-01T18:47:00.000Z

This blog has been nominated in 2 categories in the upcoming Irish Blog Awards. It has been nominated in:

Best Blog and
Best Personal Blog

Also Rate This Toilet has been nominated in 2 categories these being:
Best Blog and
Best Specialist Blog

A big thank you to my home boys and girls who nominated me...word to you all.
Now, let the fun begin !!!

p.s. I hope Una has TM'd yasies.

Computers? Schools? Government? Really?

2008-01-24T08:54:00.001Z

Was reading this morning that Mary Hanafin, the all knowledgeable runner of schools in Ireland stated that having computers in schools helps prevent kids from dropping out.

She was also talking about some crap package of €252m to be spent on schools (equates to about €15 per child per year in Ireland)

This is the same government who give schools NO money to buy computers. Most computers in Irish schools have come from the Tesco scheme and other such schemes that rely on parents to participate. Or, they get computers from businesses or from parents - not the government. This is also the same government who have spent no money on broadband for schools and who have wilfully neglected the schools for years. The same government who give no money to schools for maintenance or support of computers, networks or connections. And they expect kids to learn.

The sooner this government are out the better. And especially Hanafin.

Band or Singer - which one are you??

2008-01-23T11:21:00.000Z

Think about this carefully.

If you could say you are like a band or singer which one would you say you are like and why???

For example, you may think you are like Radiohead. Had a good time in the 90's when everyone liked you but as people spent more time with you they got depressed and stopped hanging around. You went into hiding and in order to make new friends you offer them discounts to spend time with you..

Have a try..

Ahhh...Baby Cheeses

2008-01-23T11:18:00.000Z

Stole this from Nerd Rock who stole it from Unbearably Light. Class.

Broadband Bill in the Seanad

2008-01-22T21:58:00.000Z

I was listening to the Last Word on Today FM and heard Senator Shane Ross talk about the broadband bill he will be trying to get accepted in the Seanad.

I hope this gets accepted or even parts of it. Broadband in Ireland is crap and needs to be sorted ASAP.

Support this by emailing your ideas, issues and concerns to shane.ross@oireachtas.ie. Or if you don't have broadband use the old fashioned means (like the Government want us to):

Senator Shane Ross
Seanad Eireann
Leinster House
Kildare St
Dublin 2.

Tel: +353 1 618 3014
Home: +353 1 211 6692
Fax: + 353 1 618 4192

Fanny Waters v The Bloggers

2008-01-22T21:44:00.000Z

So tomorrow Fanny Waters is taking on the blogging community on Newstalk. The yoke who has made some very bold statements about the Internet and blogger's will have the chance to take on a very able opponent.

Lets see what the scuttering gobsheen has to say for himself now..

Newton Faulkner

2008-01-17T22:10:00.000Z

Listened to his album "Hand built by robots" for the first time this evening and have to say I thought it was excellent. His cover of Massive Attack's "Teardrop" is really cool.

If you haven't bought this album get it.

Fanny Waters

2008-01-17T21:37:00.001Z

You really should go to this amazing blog. Fanny Waters is so full of wisdom and he is imparting this to us. Go and gorge on this...

Kevin Myers v Kieran Allen

2008-01-15T20:11:00.000Z

I was listening to 'The Last Word' (or the Mulley show as it's known in some quarters) on Today FM and there was a debate between Kevin Myers (journo from the Irish Independant) and Kieran Allen author of "The Corporate take over of Ireland". It was with regards to the recent Irish Rail strike in Kent station in Cork.

I missed the start of the interview but apparently Mr.Allen personally attacked Kevin Myers on his views and background and not about the issue in question. Allen was stating that the guy in Cork had every right to do what he done because he was asked to do something that wasn't part of his job by management.

Lets look at this last statement: This one guy, brought down the whole rail network in Cork because he was asked to do something other than his norm. And he affected over 2000 rail users. Although his colleagues joined him, he alone is the cause why people had to find other means of travel. This one guy. Allen was saying that you can't let management get away with these things and he is right....to a point. There are ways and means of venting your frustration and making your point. In this case he could have called his union rep and acted.

But no. He went on strike and brought down the rail network. That is what Kevin Myers was arguing about and I agree with him. I don't often agree with him but in this case he is right.

There has to be an accountability in any line of work and the unions have done nothing for the public who are affected by these inexcusable strikes.

Some guy wrote into the show and stated that what happened to cause this strike was that an agreement was reached before Xmas between the Labour Courts, management at Irish Rail and the unions and this agreement was breached. That is wrong but so is the strike. The unions have no trouble stating what caused the strike was wrong but never, ever admit when their members are in the wrong and act on it.

And this needs to start happening. Soon.

Open note to the American owners of Liverpool

2008-01-15T19:58:00.000Z

Fuck off back to America and leave our club and manager alone.

Pricks.

Why this country is going to shit

2008-01-14T21:37:00.000Z

I was reading Twenty's post about the HSE slashing budgets in our hospital's which makes so much sense. Where else would Mary Harney get the money for food?

It made me think of this letter that was in the Metro newspaper this morning. Everything in this letter show's what is wrong with Ireland and why everything run in the public sector and civil service is in total and utter crap. What I write here is taken exactly from the letter:

"So us poorly paid civil servants will have to endure more hardship and financial struggles after the disgraceful benchmarking report?

On my journey home by train on Thursday I listened to the intense criticism of public sector employees. How easily they forget that without civil servants they will not be able to sign on and collect their social welfare payments when the tiger finally dies.

I had time to sit back and consider my futur employment prospects in a full-time pensionable job with six months paid sick leave, seven uncertified sick days each year, flexi-time, free educational courses, paid study leave, free car parking in the city, 23 days annual leave, two priviledge days and a requirement to work a massive six hours 57 minutes each day.

Then I remembered that when decentralisation is completed I will have a five minute walk to work. So, private sector slaves do you honestly believe I'm worried about the three per cent pay increase. Your criticism is falling on very comfortable but deaf ears.

Happy civil servant by email".

We pay for this gobshite to work? We pay for them to have 25 days holidays and all that sick leave (and they probably take most of it too)? How can they justify all those perks for civil servants for very little work? I mean, this person says they have to work 6 hours 57 minutes per day. Do they actually work any more than about 2 hours in reality.

I hate this dude/dudette. An utter prick. If the tiger dies, I hope you are the first person made redundant you insensitive bollox.

School Broadband

2008-01-14T21:11:00.000Z

I see on Damien's blog he has a story about more lies from TIF and the Government on school broadband.
I also know this story to be untrue as I have inside information.

I just wonder how much longer can this government go on in light of all the rubbish and scandal that is surrounding it? It seems that for 10 years while they hid everything, they think now that they don't have to hide it anymore as they have been voted back in. That we are all OK with what they have done and will continue to bend over and take it again.

It's about time we all started to stand up to them. Yes we had the Celtic Tiger but it's waning and they are doing nothing at all. We need to do something, and quick.

FBI in non-payment of bill shock..

2008-01-11T15:56:00.000Z

I love this story. A telephone company cut off an FBI phone tap for not paying the bill.

Class.

Fly on the wall

2008-01-11T15:48:00.000Z

If you could be a fly on any wall in the world for 1 day (and guaranteed not to be swotted) where would you be and why?

And to help you think, some soft music...

2008 Irish Blog Awards

2008-01-11T11:46:00.001Z

And so the date has been set for the 2008 Irish Blog Awards and tis on March 1st in the Alexander Hotel in Dublin.

Please do come along. If you are not there then (delete as appropriate):
1) You were not invited
2) You are bitter about last years awards
3) You are a Fine Gael moron who is bitter and twisted.

As Una says, byesies.

Another Irish Rail Strike

2008-01-09T09:01:00.000Z

I heard yesterday on the news (yes, I'm a bit behind everyone else) that an unofficial strike had been averted in Cork. However, services between Cork and Dublin and the commuter lines in Cork were affected by this strike. Yet again, it was the rail inspection and maintenance staff that caused this stoppage.

I ask - when will this crap stop? It was unofficial. No stoppage should have occurred. Why do the ordinary people suffer because of a disagreement between management and workers? Why is it that when people are in a union and have a gripe, rather than talking properly over the issue downing tools is their first action? And if deemed wrong NOTHING EVER happens them.

If this disruption was wrong I want to know what will happen the man who caused the problem. Why is it, that one man can cause trouble for 100's and get away with it? Why does his union back him? Answer: Unions in Ireland are weak ass bodies who do nothing at all expect cause people pain. Period.

Please, oh please something needs to be done to ensure that unofficial strikes and disruptions to people does not occur.

Irish Rail apologised for the inconvience caused. Nothing from the unions or the prick who caused the problem. I'm sure those affected who were late to meetings, late home, or had to fork out for taxis or other methods of transport are really grateful for the apology.

I hate unions.