Whykay's happenings

Tweets ahead of the news

The red line LUAS tram in Dublin crashed into a number 16 bus on O'Connell Street. I did not hear this from the news, even the breaking news. It was from a tweet from a friend who just so happens to work in a building overlooking the scene of the accident. This tweet was just a little over an hour ago.

darraghs Luas crash photo: http://bit.ly/1noYLM

This is quickly followed by RTs (retweets) from another friend of mine:

murf RT @MarkBagnall: Luas v Bus on O'Connell St, really hope no one was seriously injured http://twitpic.com/hxjqw (via RT @ChristineBohan: )

Around 20 minutes ago, it appeared on AA roadwatch's site, around the same time, it appeared on RTE.ie's news site, and my friend's photo was used.

So you see how media coverage has changed, especially on terrible accidents and tweets help to warn other people about them in case someone they know are in one, or avoid the area when commuting.

That explains the teddy mystery

I was walking from our new house in Phoenix Park Racecourse to the apartment through Phoenix Park, and as we were nearing Dublin Zoo, I noticed alot of kids carrying more than one teddy bear. I made a passing comment but paid no more heed to it till I read the news this morning. What I witnessed was the gathering for the teddy bear picnic at Dublin Zoo. That explains everything, and not just because teddies is suddenly back in fashion. :D

Kitty vegetarian

It does exists, check it out for yourself.

Thank goodness I am not the only...

... that is thinking "WTF!?!?!?"

The commercial I saw while I was in San Fran recently:

Now, for those outside of U.S. and did not see this on Youtube yet, it's time for your "WTF?!?!?!".

Well, Penny Arcade made a strip on this, and I'm glad it's not something that people in States understand...

I saw another one on Youtube, a longer version in a different setting, again, W.. T.. F...?

PAX 2008 - More reminiscing

I'm happy with the swag we got at PAX this year. I queued up straight away when I got to the exhib halls on the first day of PAX. Lucky I did, they were out of PAX 08 tees and others stuff by Saturday evening.

The special PAX Razer mouse Mick got was cool:

And the collectors of Penny Arcade's first game, Precipice of Darkness:

(Both images from Kotaku.)

Most of our swag was bought or given on the 1st day:

And yes, we even got the Fallout 3's Vault Boy puppet as seen in http://www.joystiq.com/2008/08/31/pax-2008-the-vault-boy-puppet/.

A few people have been blogging how PAX can be improved (here and here and here for example). I hope the overlaps of certain events like demos, panels, Q&As as well as the long queues are resolved for next year. 5 hours queuing the first day was epic, and was not that enjoyable. Ok, people falling over themselves to get a blue band to get into the concert on Friday was funny:

Although in the end, we got our blue bands without doing anything. A few cosplayers were taking our attentions away from our tired and sore limbs from standing or sitting on the hard floor:

And not forgetting the Cookie Brigade who sold cookies and manage to raise $5000 for Child's Play.

There were good suggestions voiced out at PA's Q&A sessions, like having a Child's Play auction at future PAXis (apparently Tycho approves of the use of "PAXis suggested by a fan). And for all those dads who thinks that gaming is a waste of time, direct them to Child's Play (just re-iterating what Gabe said at the Q&A).

I don't think the smell was that bad, as mentioned by some bloggers, but I was lucky not being stuck with ones they mentioned. One other thing, they should have designated areas for charging DS', PSPs, laptops, etc. When over 50K (I mentioned 60K before, I was incorrect, I was guessing at the time as everyone was saying it was double the amount from last year's PAX) nerds attend a gaming festival, there are bound to be a lot of portable consoles and laptops. While we were queuing for an event in the main hall, it was announced that items will be confiscated if people were caught using the power outlets in the convention centre. Hours waiting in line, what did they expect, anyway, people honoured the announcement, and no more crowds of people around a power source that pocketed the convention centre. One thing I found funny, was the gun they were giving away (we did not get one as we were busy queuing) was not allowed to be used in the centre as they are a weapon. Sheesh, they should have asked the security in the place, give gamers a gun and hours of wait time, what did you think would happen?

And it sometimes feels good when photos taken (mainly by Mick) are good quality especially when you come across an article such as this one by Joystiq and compare to Mick's pic:

Again I cannot emphasise on the queuing side of PAX, at least we were having a nice dinner when these guys were in line at 10:30pm the night before PAX opened. We wandered in at 10'ish I think, after brekkie. We love PA, but there are limits. (Ok, Mick got sigs off Tycho and Gabe after their second Q&A, got to take a photo of that and put it up).

Looking back at PAX 2008

From the overwhelming amount of people attending PAX this year to my utter disgust at Freezepop's inability to perform without your ears bleeding to immense pleasure of witnessing Gabe's artistic talents at work in creating Monday's panel (which unfortunately won't be seen till Gabe's machine is fixed, but that's ok as I have a video of it to remind me what it was like, and you can check out the photo of the final image at the make-a-panel). Who can forget the many, many DS' and laptops shining out during the gig, and Jonathan Coultan's act was fantastic, the Portal song and the Zombies were my highlights. Audience participation is a must for full enjoyment.

From phrases like "Whooo-oo" to "Yea-aah!" to "Awesome" was the main vocab for some odd reason. It's not like nerds/geeks are not educated or anything, it felt like they are either rednecks or surfer dudes (and yes, dude was mentioned somewhere out there).

The moment of Jerry tying the mic chord around Mike's neck to get the Pacman watch given by a fan was funny, Mick did not get a shot of that, we'll need to wait for the PAX 08 DVD to come out to see that again. Another thing I've never experienced before (apart from it being my first time at a gamers convention) was the use of PictoChat on the DS. It's fantastic up to a point where people were populating it with wangs and arses. Although I was happy when I drew (or tried to) a stick figure version of the portal slide and got Portal responses from the people around.

And finally some pics from PAX can be found at here

That's a bit crazy..

... selling your life on ebay, I mean! I suppose if you have no qualms like this guy and want a fresh start, why not, plus the bidding is going well for him so far. Fair play to him, hope he likes his new lease of life when his former life is sold.

Naivety

A pact to get pregnant is one of the most irresponsible things to do, and these girls have no idea the enormity of what they have done to themselves. Bringing another life into the world, and the loss of their last years of childhood to became young mothers. It's not the end of the world for them, it'll be tougher. It begs to question the sex education they had, the implications of what they had done is not serious to them at all...

School officials became suspicious when girls began seeking pregnancy tests at the school clinic and seemed more upset when they were not pregnant than when they were. Some girls reacted with high-fives and started planning baby showers when they learned they were expecting.

Be careful about what you say

... when you blog especially.

Street Art in Lower East Side

Street Art in Lower East Side, originally uploaded by nickgraywfu.

Nice pic in Flickr via Reddit.

Mii Wedding

My last post about geek weddings will not be the last, seems like their video games and announced their wedding Mii style. Kids nowadays, heehee.

Anti-parent on Facebook! Now that is not right.

The article, When Mom or Dad Asks To Be a Facebook Friend, shows some young people in the States are shocked, so much so, groups for anti-parents in Facebook groups have appeared. I personally don't see this as a problem. These young people want to keep their party lives in college to themselves, but their profile is still public. Act like eejits, they would have to deal with future employers and their parents seeing what they get up to on those nights out. If you want to keep things private, don't put anything online, simple as that.

(Source: Washington Post)

First Maid Cafes, now Maid Casinos!

Came across this article, I'm just wondering will there be a butler casino? *lol

Regulations for family-friendly apartment to be extended nationwide

I mentioned before that Dublin City Council introduced family-friendly apartments to be build by developers, now it seems that this regulation has been extended to the rest of the cities and towns nationwide.

the new regulations set out minimum floor space and storage space sizes that must be adhered to in the future.

Disaster for Spears

With all the news about Britney's disastrous opening performance, I had to check it out. And boy, she was really, really bad. I read about it in the Indo and was more interested with the comments at the end of the article. People who disagree that Spears is "paunchy", and more interestingly enough, Irish guys saying it as well as women.

'paunch' ?, She looks great !. When compared to the women you see in Ireland, out on the town with their 'beer belly tops', Britney looks just fine. The poor girl just needs some dance lessons.

I told my hubby that, and he also thought the news are a bit harsh about her not in your atypical Hollywood shape.

Wierd but...

...it could be useful for brides who want a perfect smile? Well, what did I mean by that, check this out, and you will see what I mean.

More getting civil services

I'm not surprised, Mick and I opted for this also. We are not divorcees or anything, it was our own choice, coupled with the hotel that luckliy has a civil registry wedding package. So more people are getting civil services and are in their 30s before tying the knot. Interesting to see people's attitudes to marriage and having children nowadays, with focus on careers, especially for those who are paying off their mortgages.

Creationists at its best

By the way, I'm being sarcastic. So this 8th grade kid from Christian science fair disproves evolution

Using a rolled-up paper towel suspended between two glasses of water with Epsom Salts, the paper towel formed stalactites.

Now, because of this "demonstration", the quips that this means that they take millions of years to develop is wrong.

Here goes my "roll up my eyes" look. And this just reminds me of a recent reddit link to a certain picture, periodic table of elements according to creationists. What a laugh a minute.

2nd Life goes boom for one island

Haha, I like my WoW, but I have never tried (or go near) 2nd Life. But reading stories about things that happen in 2nd Life is funny, like this island setup by a broadcasting company got blown up.

I finally watched...

.. Ichi the Killer. I had always wondered how gruesome it would be, to be honest, I was not all that shocked! I even found some parts funny, that's because there's dark humour dotted all around the movie. I think most people would find it disturbing and sickening to watch. But it's only a film, and curiosity of disturbing Japanese films has always stirred an interest in me. I don't like gruesome things, but it's all fake. It's not horror, I hate ghost or monster films. Maybe I have the taste for it after watching Battle Royale. Which incidently I asked Mick (my then boyfriend, now hubby) to buy it for me in HMV as a Valentine's Day present! My excuse, there's romance in it, teenage couples and the colour red... lots of red. Heehee. Main thing is, that is not reality, and should never, ever be a reality. It's just an over-imaginative mind, and pure fantasies of whoever thought it all up for novels, mangas, animés and films.

Bouncers are to be licenced from today

(From indo)

Security men caught without a new licence could be fined up to €3,000 and face 12 months in prison.
New mandatory licences issued by the Private Security Authority come into force today.
The new rules mean that rogue bouncers will not longer be able to work without a proper licence.

Woohoo! Next time think of that when you get stopped for id.

"Stupid" ski stunt underground

So this guy decided to ski down the longest escalator in a tube station in London. Even RTE News 2 showed the clip twice last night to prove that it's stupid and dangerous.. hehe.

Here is the clip:

Tidy Town Hot Fuzziness and Cherry Blossom whoopsies

For all those who have seen Hot Fuzz ("yarp!"), what Fine Gael want is to have Tidy Towns as a reality tv show. And all I could think off is Hot Fuzz.

Japan is Cherry blossom mad! Whilst Mick and I were over in Tokyo for our honeymoon, there was 1 or 2 trees blossoming, and it was like a superstar. So many people hoarding around it. I would love to go there and check out the parks with all the blossoms open. But this is where the Japanese takes the biscuit when it comes down to how serious they are about this event. From BBC News, Japan apology for blossom error. What I like even better was the fact that this is an excuse for a party!

Salarymen and office ladies, as they are known here, get drunk under the trees each night until the blossoms fall.

Tedfest... Brilliant!

Heh, gwan gwan gwan... the Tedfest is happening this weekend at Inis Mor, Galway. There's a Song for Europe event as well... My Lovely Horse... brilliant. And much more, hope they have some quick clips of the happenings, I'm sure it's a laugh.

Heelys are dangerous

Am I getting old? Well, wearing shoes with wheels at your heel is sort of dodge to start off with. Coming down stairs, walking down an inclined slope. My fiancé mentioned today when he noticed a kid being dragged by his dad, does that mean kids are not getting excercise. Heh. He's got a point there. Plus I saw a girl with the attachable wheels to normal shoes, and she was walking around like she was wearing high heels, except the high heels are wheels. People will compare it to rollarblades, skateboards, but these are meant to be like normal shoes, and an instinct will be to walk with heel down before the rest of your foot. It's even made it to the 2006 most dangerous toys list.

Well, back in my day.... ROFL.

Everyone deserves to eat

You decide how much to pay for what you eat at One World Café in Salt Lake City and the SAME (So All Might Eat) Café in Denver. Even if you have no money, you can do the dishes, sweep etc to work up to the amount you ate. Some people are more than generous as well, even leaving money without eating anything.

A little closer to home... locals whine so much about the Polish over here, you know the usual, taking our jobs yada yada yada. But alot of the Polish who come over end up homeless, and Capuchin Day Centre helped many of the Polish. Now the Polish are returning the kindness by giving generous donations. (From Indo, free registration)

"In the early part of the year it was half Irish and half Polish, but as the Polish got jobs that number has dropped,"

Gov Phonelines Bilingual madness

Granted, Ireland is taking Irish seriously, and government public information are now all bi-lingual since July 2006. But even with telephone services (Indo onine - need registration).

PEOPLE left hanging on the telephone while a voice gives them interminable "options" are to get a double earful from Government departments because now they're going to have to listen in English . . . and Irish.

I think they are in cohoots with the phone companies to sqeeze every cent from us, while we wait for all the options bilingually.

Fried Coke

Bleurgh... it's true. The Americans have done it again, Fried Coke. And they are trying to cut down on the sugar as well. Even though it's

[...] a batter mix made with Coca-Cola syrup, a drizzle of strawberry syrup, and some strawberries.

And this just reminds me of the Daily Show, where Jon Stewart picked up on chocolate chip pancake wrapped sausage on a stick, and you wonder why they are the forerunners for obesity in the world.

The thing I learnt from visiting my fiancé's mom in Orlando was, that the American's love their corn syrup. Whenever we go food shopping, she found it so hard to find something without the dreaded corn syrup, even in the bread!

Rate my auctioneer

From Indo : Now the public can put auctioneers under the hammer

Rateyourauctioneer.com has just been launched. It invites people to give compliments or to complain about their buying and selling experiences.

Heh, it's similiar to the ratemyteacher.com and ratemysolicitor.com. Heh, there is a ratemybuilder.com as well!

Cultivate Community Multicultural Street Festival

Headed into town today, expecting nothing unusual. Until I heard some music booming out of the area at the Civic Offices. I was a bit deterred from all the skater boyz but the music was good, and I wanted to see what was going on. Apparently it was the Cultivate Community event today. And there was what seems to be half-pipes (although I thought otherwise and gave out to Mick.. whoops). And skaters of all ages were freestyling, although a bit apprehensive (much better than the grufties at Central Bank, or the 20 odd year old trying to skate at our appartment complex each eveing). There was one guy who stood out from the rest, and did some better (not awesome) tricks. And a guy on a bmx. There was some hip-hop folks (incl. kids) in the back doing their thang. Not too shabby. And the music (what drew me there in the first place) was pretty damn good.

Here are some vids:

Fight club... menlo park style

Saw this article about a real-life underground fight club in Menlo Park (it's in California, right smack in Silicon Valley). That is just crazy, all those tecchie geeks bashing each other up. Funny if that is the way you get up the ladder, by beating your boss up. *lol

Some vids at Inside The Gentlemen's Fight Club.

Leinster supporters?

Given that I back Munster, since I am from Limerick. I had to give this a go

Go to google and type in "leinster supporters club" - check out the first Line

Contractors

Funny thing about today's Dilbert strip, we were discussing how bad contractors are treated in US tech companies (just cos most stories derive from US companies, I am sure this happens to any large corporate companies) the other night at the Dublin's Python Meetup. Just pure coincidence that I stumbled onto today's Dilbert, as I don't normally check it out as often anymore.

So how was April Fool's?

My April Fool's was quiet, which is good. But wikipedia has a page listing all the April Fool's prank pages.

At least I got over my hangover!

Wonder was I like that

Hmm, this comic kinda makes me wonder if I was like that playing Mario Kart DS. Heh, must ask Mick about that one. I would not be surprised, it's quite and intensive, fun-filled game.

Surging for Paddy's

You know, I am not a big fan of the black stuff. And I am not sure about this Guiness surger. Seems like alot of trouble to get your special can of Guiness to taste like draught poured in your local.

Today's march in Dublin

Ok, I only went into town early afternoon to go to Wagamamas with my bro for lunch. Thien pick up a few things here and there on the southside. Little did I know something was amiss... cue sirens, screeching tyres towards Nassau Street direction. Heading from Grafton St. towards 90 stop on Aston Quay, I saw grufties and lots of skangers wearing Irish scarved covering up half of their faces heading the same direction as the Gardaí riot vans. Ahead past the spire, my brother points to smoke. Hmmm... the bridge has been closed off, we wanted to go home (Abbey St. was out of the question). Waiting at the 90 was a bit fruitless, so my brother prodded me to walk to Jervis to get the Luas. Heh, so we got there, Luas only runs between Smithfield and Tallaght only. Anyhoo, we manage to make our way home. My brother mentioned the Loyalist march, but I check the headlines and there it was...

The Garda Riot Squad are still in attendance and a total of 37 people have been arrested. They are being held at Store Street and Pearse Street garda stations.

And what was scarier still...

Skirmishes were reported on O'Connell Bridge and Aston Quay and there was a stand-off for a time on Fleet Street.

OMG! We got out of town just in time. My brother pointed out that it is also featured in the BBC news as well. Not sure if this was a coincidence, there were more sirens than usual last night, I thought my headache emphasised it. And geesh, I can even hear some bangs nearby, and I'm living around Parkgate St.

I'm just glad I am home now.

Wake me up at...

This is rather silly.. a wake me up at... stickers!

World Aids Day today

Dr. Who to a phone near you

Well, your mobille anyway... But tis old news now. Been busy to blog lately. Anyhoo, I just shudder with the idea how much it would cost to watch an episode?!? Given that using GPRS (and if you are lucky to use 3G without losing signal) is sooo expensive here. Prob work better in Japan with manga on phones soon (maybe I am wrong that it could be cheaper over there).

Breakbeat

Music, so many different genres. Me, I myself enjoy many types. But I still enjoy good breakbeat dance music. Trying to explain to a metalhead who just replied "I don't know anything about your breakbeat", and proceed to talk guitar to his mate.

Breakbeat (breakbeats or breaks), are a collection of sub-genres of electronic music, chiefly exemplified by drum and bass and jungle, usually characterized by a non-straighted 4/4 drum pattern (as opposed to the steady beat of house or trance).

Cops told to fine themselves

Austrian cops to ordered to fine themselves

You know, everytime I see a Garda speeding without the sirens on, or when they double-park (even triple), friends laugh at me when I say... they should fine themselves. If only I suppose. But if it was like that Austrian incident, it would be a idea. Heh!

Bring your own pub!

Well, it's an inflatable pub! Wonder how would you get a license for this? And you can smoke and play darts as well! Absolutely crazy!

Video game skills do come in handy

All those years of parents telling kids to stop playing video games as it was wating their time... well, I really hope that this is true that financial sector needs people with these skills for their hand to eye co-ordination. And if you play poker, that's a good skill to have... a poker face, of course.

Compo nation still around for awhile

Some girl got hurt working in a takeaway and sued successfully, and what happened to my aunt was worse. But she owns a takeaway, and accidents do happen. She was cleaning the side of the fryer... and her hand slipped... . She did not go to the doctor or hospital, as it was busy and she continued on working (what, ya think she was going to sue herself! It's her livelihood). Work hard and retire when times come, and save money. That is always our way of thinking. (We were all giving out to her for not going, but what can we do.). But these things happen, working in the catering business, you are bound to be burnt, I see many cooks (and my mom) with plenty of scars from cooking in the restauarant/takeaway. And the government are wondering why we find it hard to hire local folks to work in the kitchen, that is the reason, they mess you about by blackmailing you, when there are not enough people working (i.e. payrise), possibilty of being sued (i.e. cut from preparing food, slip after they mop the floor etc).

This compo nation attitude is not going to change for awhile, from criminals trying to get compo from government about slop-outs to parents of primary school kids suing the school just because their kids fell in the playground. My work collegue mentioned that he was at a school meeting, and was told not to leave the children at the playground when dropping them to school as they cannot afford the insurance.

It's lunacy.

AWol laughing all the way

Awol a new trend! What is it, you may ask... It's alcohol without liquid, yup.... you inhale it! And you thought alcopops were the worst invention! (secretly wants to try it out)

I want to go to Japan!

Boing Boing: Your Neighbor Totoro House replica planned in Expo 2005 in Japan! (Start scrimping and saving!)

Free b33r

Cool company to work for... too much free food, then go to the free gym!

Tis the end of summer...

...but there is still time for ice-cream, but I don't think I can stomach some these flavours of Japanese ice-cream! (Heh, and my friends thought I was crazy about Beer ice-cream!)

Now that is what I call a car!

Reuters - The Cops Are Chasing Me in a WHAT?... now what's that about? The Italian police now has a Lamborghini.

Those strange lights, part II

Ah yes, so slashdot picked up on the lights projects over Dublin, some very funny comments though :D Control Lightshow Over Dublin Sky From A Webpage

So these are the strange lights last night

Vectorial Elevation, Relational Architecture 4
Quite cool to look at!

All for Eu Day of Welcomes. But one annoying thing, on May 1st and 2nd, Parkgate Street will be closed, and we have no access to our appartment! No times mentioned, just those 2 days! Just great, no mention online, just the stupid piece of print out on the notice board!

And you would think Ireland hates cyclists!

Well, seems like Brighton (England), do not take cyclists safety seriously much more so!

Why did you not respond to my mail?!?

Every frantic manager would be asking. Not sure about folks out there in other companies, but emails can be very time consuming. What to ignore, did I miss out any emails that are really important... or the atitude of "if it's really important they will try and find you, ring you or mail you 50 million times!". heh.. been there, still doing that, unfortunately. Given the way our email obsessive culture of CC'ing god knows every alias out there, and I'm ended up being mailed 2 or more times whenever a mail is replied to... Argh.. Anyhoo, what started off my rant - IrishEyes's blog "Why people ignore mail". Heh, I am foolish enough to look at most of my mail.. my BF on the other hand, ignores mails sent to aliases. Many learnt that if they need him, mail him.. or better yet, just pick up the damn phone! ;)

You know...

...this no smoking ban in Ireland is great. I can wear the same clothes after a night at the pub (or a restaurant)! But one thing I noticed while I was at Mulligan's off Townsend St. (here in Dublin), and man, many came to the same conclusion, sense of smell in pubs have heighted (even for a non-smoker like me). BUT, always with the buts... BUT, you can also smell more in this new unfounded territory, that is the non-smoking realms of the pubs, obnoxious gases.... yes, I mean farts! We think that apart from the smoker's smoke hiding the smell, my friends and I think that lighting up a cigeretter burns the methane, so we don't notice as much. But in Mulligan's it's even more so. For all those who are not in the know, Mulligan's is one of the best place for a nice pint of Guinness. Now, imagine.. a pub full of Guinness punters! *pew* Exactly! Coupled with iffy toilet fresheners from the nearby johns/bogs/jacks/loos.
But nonetheless, many of us agree (smokers and non-smokers), it's all good. ;)
I find it amusing taunting my buddies who smoke everytime their urge comes around, and goes out for a puff, and comes back with a waft of smoke.
Another thing I noticed, the day of the smoking ban that came in, I was at Tara St. DART station, and I saw many empty nicotine chewing gum packets strewn all around the platform. And an announcement remind daily commuters that there is no smoking at train stations or on trains. Heh, better be careful wile waiting for the trains then, given Irish rail and DART's track record for allways being on time... *wink*

Dublin... metro... greenlight soon!

Yes... I kid you not! Metro project expected to get green light within two weeks. It's about time as well!

Philip K. Dick Official Site

www.philipkdick.com/, nice slick site for one of the greatest SF writers.

Happy Paddy's Day!

Well, slept in today, did not go to see the parade here in Dub city. Even though it will be the last year large floats go down O'Connell St because of the power lines for the LUAS will need to be taken down and put back up from next year onwards, if large floats are still a feature in Irish parades. Anyhoo, no green pints for me, but here's some bit about Paddy's day. Have a good one (although I was in town earlier today, and many were a wee bit legless ;) )

Minister launches airport internet services

Minister launches airport internet services... at Cork, Dublin and Shannon... unfortunately, it is free until the end of June till the end of the Ireland's presidency of the EU.

This is madness

Nobel peace prize nominees includes Bush and Blair! What!?! Is this going to become the oscars. Or is there some script that pulls out the leader of a country's name and submits it as a nominee... *sigh*

Snippets of ups and downs around Ireland

Yay, it's a "criminal offense" to smoke in restaurants and pubs, and fines upto €3000. Tis a different tale if this was just a fine.
An example of overcrowding in our Dublin's fair city trains, aptly titled, "Overcrowded commuter trains 'are accidents waiting to happen'". It's the same story with the DART and buses as well.
There is talk of the place I am working in of a possible payrise... but lucky Dell employess in Limerick... boooo!
And good news for all broadband users... falling prices of broadband services in Ireland, from enn.ie's Report reveals true broadband costs... dum-dum-dum!
And last but none the least, an oh my gosh blog entry from Irish Eyes about Robot tank battles in Thurles!!!

Non-smking areas don't work

You don't say! BBC online news article reports that nicotine levels are lower, but still high. Wow, I wouldn't need scientists to tell me that when I am sitting in the no smoking area, and waft of smoke filters through the invisble wall seperating us from the smokers, usually by a draught or bad ventilation. But even if it is one table that is smoking, the clothes somehow pick up this vile stench.

Nice to see Ireland mentioned as the forefront of banning smoking from restaurants and pubs. Bye-bye, smokey clothes.

Yay! Smoking ban after March

Finally, it's officially announce, smoke-free workplace, particularly at restaurants. I am happy as I don't get to smelly smokey just cos one person decide to have a puff before and after a meal in the table next to me (while I am eating), and secondly, my parents have a restaurant, and it's good that folks who work there do not have to inhale 2nd hand smoke, it has greatly damaged my father's lungs after nearly 4 decades of working in the business.

Official sites:
* Speech by Micheál Martin TD, Minister for Health and Children at the announcement of the commencement date for the smoke-free workplace regulations.

* http://www.smokefreeatwork.ie

In the news:
* Limerick Post - Health Minister to announce smoking ban date
* CNN - Irish smoking ban to include pubs
* BBC News - Ireland outlaws smoking in pubs

Irish gov BB site

Indo - Website to signpost 'cheapest' broadband article points to theconsumer information website. Thing is, it does not cover all the areas. Where is Caherdavin in Limerick, or Parkgate St. in Dublin? And why is Hosting 365 not on the list. They are cheap.

Alcho-bics

Hmm, wonder what they would taste like? Saw the article from Ananova.com - Alcohol flavour biscuits condemned.

Women buying gadgets

What's more annoying then Women treated like idiots when shopping for tech (Ars Technica).
But after the many frustrating experiences, it is still worth it a little bit to see the awestruck faces of how much I know about something I want to buy, and have researched thoroughly. :)

Heh, must pass this one to my BF's mom

..who has a beagle, and is not suppose to have any snacks.. but you know, you cannot ignore her cute adorable look before plonking down in front of you... heh!
See article from Ananova - Megan (the dog) is slimmer of the year.

Finally...

...the answer to "What is hogmanay?" (apart from that it is a big festival in Scotland!)... answers can be found here Hogmanay.net - the home of Hogmanay. Tis been bugging me since last night! :)

Woah.. you can get anything on ebay!

A decommissioned aircraft carrier! Found this on Boing Boing Blog - Best geek gift yet: decommissioned aircraft carrier. It's crazy. Well worth to go to the ebay link there and have a good laugh reading the description. :D

Oops! Is it really real?

Free diamonds stunt backfires, and while we are on the subject of oops! They are still trying to locate the Beagle, no signal for 2 days.

Tis the time to go and get spooky

Want to know more about Hallow's eve? (Well, my German flatmate was asking about it...) So here are the Google results for Halloween.

Am I reading this right?

See the price of the DVD in China!!! Hong Kong Daily - Studios hope 'Matrix' film will strike blow against China piracy

Inflation and begging has gone up

What is it with inflation nowadays? A homeless person came up to me and my BF and asked us politely to give him 5 Euro! Not spare some change, but 5 Euro. My BF took out some change and out of his good heart, gave him the two 1 Euro coins (the largest coins he had, the rest were 1/2/5/10/20 cents). The guy then had the audacity to ask for the rest of the change! My word, what is the world coming to. Money means something to us, ou know as well. We need to be able to fend for ourselves, and we don't go begging others for change, never mind 5 Euro.

Kindergarden for hubbies and partners

Nox Bar in Hamburg just started a pub that offers women to go shopping while their partners "park them at what it bills as the country's first kindergarten for men". Read the full article - German Bar Offers Kindergarten for Men from fredericksburg.com.
Wonder will this take off here? Will any shopping get done? More drinking, perhaps. :P

Should we be worried?

Yes, the economic downturn is slowly turning around (as far as IT is concerned). But here in Ireland, is the high cost hurting us more than ever? Yes, it is mainly all manufacturing that is being re-allocated (mostly), but warning bells from say Oracle's Irish boss, 3Com's re-allocation to Eastern Europe or Asia and more tech bad news from ENN. Sigh... Is it time now to move away?

Dublin's Flash Mob on Sat

I was not able to go but I heard about it... and it seemed everyone had a good laugh! Check out The Dublin (Flash) Mob Scene: Robert Burke's Photo Album on the Web

Cyborg Nation?

Just hope Kevin Warwick doesn't hear about this! Ars Technica: One step closer to a cyborg nation.

HK's parking meters to accept smart cards

Great to know that HK has embraced the samrt card technology. They have two options with your e-card, one which is just cash, while the other option allows e-card holders to transfer from your account. (I prefer just the e-card on its own, you drop it, it's just lost cash with no attachements to your accounts, yes I am paranoid!) Here is the article from HK government's news site : Parking meters to accept Octopus cards
Wonder will this ever take off in Ireland, not just for parking meters, but smart cards in general! :P

Mugenkyo Taiko Drummers

Wow, that was a good show at Collin's Barracks today. The drummers were having fun performing on a bright sunny day today (even though on of the acts was a call for rain!). The kids were having fun, expecially a young girl jumping to the beat and tempo of the drums. I loved the mega drum which was hit with a baseball bat, definately can do that with an image of my least favourite person as the drum!
Well, they have a site where you can check out their samples and video clips - www.mugenkyo.com
They have a dojo as well, but it is in England. Sounds fun, but a bit to travel to get there though! Well done, Collin's Barracks for bringing such a wonderful act to your "Lazy Sunday" event.

How to be meowlingual

Now I have seen everything...my sides hurt too much, just look at the pic when you go to the article... priceless! :D
Ananova - Bark-translator plans gadget for cat

Yu-Gi-Oh Maze of Pharoahs

This definately reflects my brother and cousin at the moment! :P
They duel nearly once a week at "The Gathering" off William Street down in Limerick...
Mac Hall Comics - Yu-gi-Oh reference

Beer Mania

Belgian beer, I love that strawberry stuff! http://www.beermania.be/

I don't have to go down to any caves now...

...all they have to do is take panoramic shots and I can see it for myself without getting mucky and cold in the deep dark caves like The tour through Nova Krizna Jama is 26 panoramas from Bostjan Burgers site And here is another cave shot.

Meow TV

I wonder if they would broadcast this here? CNN.com - 'Meow TV' to premiere this month - May. 21, 2003

It's official, Ireland's the most expensive in Europe!

McCreevy blamed as we top the rip-off list from the Indo. (Need to register - but it's free)
Check out Consumer Pricing Report for 2003 from Forfas, the State advisory board. (Even we are more expensive than Finland!)

Smart cards in Dub - Summer 2004

Ooh-ooh... smart cards are coming to Dub. Hope they make the deadline, although I know many people will have cynical views about the gov and deadlines for projects that will enhance our shoddy public transport ;P. Here is the article - Commuter smartcards to be launched in Dublin next summer from Electric News.

My previous blog : The Irish "Octopus" Card

Some comedy satire from Bremner Bird and Fortune

Some online clips from Bremner Bird and Fortune (Channel 4)
A little insight on the trio's view of the whole Iraqi war.

Interview with director of Animatrix

From Final Fantasy to Final Flight, we bring you Andy Jones.
Can't wait for the DVD to come out!

Caffeinated Soap

Shower Shock Caffeinated Soap... Why would I want caffeine in soap? And wash it away instead of intaking caffeine! WHERE'S MY COFFEE!!!

Cut, grind to make your pc...

...but will it be as simple as a cardboard PC? My friend said that it's "perverted" and also wonder if it will be quiet. I am wondering how fast this will be engulfed in flames! ;P But interesting anyway...

Wowsers...build your own BattleMech

..in your own backyard! Well, this guy did - The Making of a BattleMech By Com Star Guard (CSG)

Earth Day today

I'm no hippy, but it helps to look after our environment.
Some earth day tips - http://www.knowledgehound.com/topics/earthday.htm
Some earth day ecards - http://www.care2.com/send/catearthday1.html

An x-ray of Bush

X-RAY - link found from daypop.com

More on the art theme

I love this style used in the cartoons drawn - http://www.shag.com/gallery.html ou'd propb seen some of his works in ads, well they do look familiar somehow. Although this type of desgin is sort of the rage at the moment.
Um, unfortunately, the title of his site is not what it seems, it's the last 2 letters of his first name and the first 2 letters of his last name - His bio.
Man! If only I can draw like this! - http://www.excelsiorstudios.net/ And check out the links to other cool artists sites as well. So much talent!

Who likes Art Deco?

..." I do!!!" Just watched this cool documentray on BBC tonight. Did not realise that it was an Open University programme. It was really interesting, following from it origins to artists drawings, architectural designs to appliances... my fav is the Crysler Building in New York. The OU site is - BBC - Art of Glamour.

Dubya as you imagine he would be

And a scary thing is, it's true... Some funny pictures of DubYa

Funny Reg article

Uncanny resemblances!?! Just read the following Reg article - US Irish in St Patrick's Day Iraqi banner outrage

Pretzels to Double-Ya

French site to send Bush peace pretzels, this will be interesting to find out what happens, if it does get through...

And who can leave out Michael Moore's message to Double-Ya.

Look what can happen to you baggage if you are anti-war!

Passenger finds 'chilling' note from bag handler

On another note, a tragic incident of mother and sons die of suffocation from sealing themselves in against a chemical attack in Israel. Goes to show how awfully wrong some suggestions are for people in these type of situations. And to think of it, that sealing all doors and windows were advised to US citizens!!!

Walkout protest against war in Iraq...

... is so well planned that we stop working on the time that most people have their lunch breaks anyway! And the best one would have to be when they thought that the war was starting on Paddy's day, that they were staging a walkout! For us in Ireland, it's a Bank Holiday. Maybe it is the thought that counts! http://www.unison.ie/breakingnews/index.php3?ca=9&si=32191 (from The Irish Independant - free registration)

Happy Paddy's Day

(Got this from some site I can't remember. Just google search for "St Patrick's Day picture" and you will find it.)

A cool barcode art site

Yes, you read right, a barcode art site, and the site is nice as well. ~ http://www.barcodeart.com/art/art.html

New mobile social behaviour

Interesting how on social behaviour of using mobiles in Japan - A New Set of Social Rules for a Newly Wireless (from Japan's Media review)

Battle Star Galactica

New BSG 4 hour mini-series. Oish won't like this?!?

Bush a hypocrite?

You don't say. A good site - Some "credible" events Bush attends to

Cool gallery of world banknotes

From Cartoonist's blog. Just thought it was cool to see all the different currencies from around the world.
And I have never seen old Irish currency (oldest I have handled were ha'penny!) - Irish currency gallery

Comic taken off shelves because of toy gun

Yup, Dandy was taken off the shelves because apparently, the "bright blue-and-yellow plastic 'punch-gun' toy" could be used as a weapon to hi-jack planes. Read more on this ridulous stance by Birmingham International Airport - Comic's free toy banned in airport security crack-down (from ananova.com)

McDonalds selling fresh fruit!

Yup... apparently, the profits are falling that McDonalds are willing to sell fresh fruit for healthier eating. What are their motifs? Will this be worldwide? Who knows... First it was McCafe on Grafton street, what a load of rubbish, now this. Can't blame them for trying though.
McDonald's to sell fresh fruit (from ananova.com)

Dublin Spire

Everyone is talking about it now, I am getting use to it. And I love the way it catches the sunlight in the morning. Check out the nice pictures yourself at spireofdublin.com

Human Shield

Um, ok... I support peace and don't like war (who does!), but this is quite Darwinistic thing to do. US warning for human shields in Iraq (from ananova.com)

Highest Internet Café?

An internet café in the Mount Everest, and money from the café will be used to clean up the rubbish in the mountains. Good idea!
Sherpa Plans World's Highest Cyber Cafe at Everest (From reuters.com)

Be Prepared!?!

Ready.gov's piss-take

The Irish "Octopus" Card

Heard from my flatmate that the Integrated smart cards will be here in Ireland sooner than we thought. They want to gather information, but I need to get this site from my flatmate. I can give lots of feedback of my experience using these smart cards in HK. I see that the governent eproject planned delivery date for this is end of 2003 - Scroll down to number 43

More information on the integrated ticketing system:
o Finanacial part from Department of Transport
o Executive summary from Department of Transport
o From Dublin Bus

My previous blogs about integrated smart cards:
o Irish Transport should learn from HK
o Integrated Smartcards for public transport

Fritz Lang's Metropolis on the big

Wow, this film was breathtaking (considering when it was made!). I rather enjoyed the movie, and it was my first time watching this film. I never expected what I saw and what they have acheived with regards to special effects in this film. Although it is restored, it was as close to the film (of what is left, 1/4 was destroyed) and it was fun to watch. What was really spectacular were the backgrounds used, showing the expanse of the city, Metroplis. The Art Deco style really brought it all out. I especially love the pipes that issue the change of shifts for the workers. Although in B+W and no sound, it was definately worth seeing. I would like to see the colour version of it was well, heard from my BF that there are several versions out. My fav character has to be the "evil" Maria with the evil eye. All that partying and dancing seducing men, and causing mayhem and uprising, it was brilliant acting by the actress.
I found an official site - Fritz Lang's Metroplis

Won't they ever learn?

I say, after a spate of buses and car transporters etc getting stuck under the bridge, you would have thought that something as big as a digger would not get itself stuck under a bridge. Read the height sign of the bridge, it is only common sense! -
Rush-hour bridge accident snarls traffic in city (From the Irish Independant - free subscription)

This is how duct tape should be used...

Preivous blogs show the ridiculous use of duct tape, and how useless it is. But the following would work so much better from my opinion - Duct and cover (from thismodernworld.com)

Ok, this is just plain lunacy

No, no... this is forging its way to just plain sad - http://www.ducttapefashion.com.
Found this from the popular hits index page : popdex.com

Bork M$ pages

Right, nuff of this Swedish muppet takes swipe at M$ headlining all the RSS news feeds , so I decided to see what was going on, and what I read just makes me wanna download opera bork just to see the results! From Opera's press release - Opera releases "Bork" edition : The Swedish Chef Goes After Microsoft.
And from forbes.com : Opera swipes at Microsoft with Muppet browser

Now this is just silly...

Man Wraps Entire House In Plastic After Terror Warning

A safer America

(ROTFL)Look at what I found. Check out this little pkg you can get to feel safe from terrorism (it's no duct tape) - High Rise Kit for 1 Adult. And this site does exist : http://www.saferamerica.com

Jeidi - the new faith

Yes, the census came back and said that it would become a "fully recognised and legal religion". - Census returns of the Jedi (from BBC News)

Def Con Alerts

You can see what state of alert Stateside is in.. (seriously!) - Def Con Alerts, collect them all

Duct tape sold out in US

Terrorism alert has got many Americans buying up duct tape to seal up windows and doors. (Hmm, I wonder if those folks who are bunked down for Y2K are still in their bunkers?) Anyhoo, here is the article - Duct tape sales rise amid terror fears (from cnn.com)

Asian Online Journal

Look at what I found! And asian online journal called The Rice Bowl Journals. They have people/bloggers from all over, but not one from Ireland! Maybe I will join, but not now...

Oscar's Nominations

I don't care about the main Hollywood films/actors/actresses etc... But I would rather talk about the nomination for the Best Foreign Language Movie, and guess what? Hero is one of the nominations. It's one of the best and beautifully film this year.
And for the nominations for Animated Feature Film are Ice Age, Lilo and Stich and Spirited Away. Out of the three, I hope Sprited Away wins. There were others as well, but I did not watch them,, and I don't really care! The rest of the nominations if you want can be found here - http://www.oscar.com/nominees/nomineelist.html

Rent-a-state

Yup, you heard right. Here is CNN's article - Liechtenstein for rent

Salary increase for Irish s/w engineers

Um, my salary is nowhere near this! Irish software engineers see wages rise (from electricnews.net)

US threat level - yellow to orange?

A funny comment from You made Monkey cry's blog on his view of Dub-u-yah.

Outside opinion on Shannon airport incident...

Irish parliament receives security advice from A-Team. (from ananova.com)

Brewing Beer in the wash

Yup, a washing machine can brew beer according to this German priest. News from ananova.com.

Irish Bloggers

Yup, finally found a site that shows other Irish bloggers. (I knew some existed somewhere here in the emerald isle!) iLoggers : The definitive guide to Irish sites and weblogs. (And yup, I am listed at the bottom, wierdly sorted)

Some news about Battle Royale 2

From Ain't It Cool which also has a link to its official site, plus you can see some teaser trailers.

Bombing Mr. Johnson

My BF's blog linking to Terry Jones little article summing up how silly the way dubuyah Bush is handling this Iraq incident - Bombing Mr. Johnson

China ready for the coffee culture

Found this article china.org's article "Chinese Ready for Coffee Culture. Starbucks says that they happily welcome the competition. ;) But just hope they use real milk. I remember having Blu Mountain coffee in HK, and they don't use proper milk and the coffee tasted cack. I am sure the coffee is fine, but not with the milk they used. I noticed a greasy layer on the surface of the coffee after adding the milk. An even wierder experience was in Spaghetti House in MongKok. The milk was actually boiled! That too gave a greasy layer in the surface of a truly awful coffee (not sure was this even ranking in the University coffee leve!!!). Just hope this new chain is just as good as Starbucks. This chain is calledCoffee Beanery.

Chinese novels

So, I don't know enough Chinese words to read a Chinese novel. Hmph! Therefore I am setting out to see if I can get translated novels (I know it is not the same, translation of one language to another always loses meaning of what the author is writing about). But until I get a grasp of the Chinese ideographs, this will do for now.
Here is a site I found with some classic literature for sale (whole set), but unfortunately are in Chinese only. But there are 2 novels that are in English. I will place more links up to similar sites in later blogs. Oh and this site also hosts some fan fiction as well. Jin Yong's Reading Room.

Fun to find out about some classic stories, check here - http://www.china-on-site.com/. This is a Chinese culture guide which includes some literature (includes some comic strips).

Some philosphical stories - Zen Stories. Simple pictures illustrating the stories.

A wine blog

I have a blog link to a beer blog, why not a wine blog as well!?! Here it is - http://www.tizwine.com/winenews/.

For all those who support free use of digital audio

MP3 is not a crime blog

No to War in Iraq

I don't agree with what double-ya Bush is doing,a nd here is the one of many No To War sites - No War Blog.

Well tonight is sure a busy night in town

Munster won. And they did what they need to do to win a well, and boy were they celebrating like mad tonight. Driving around packs of drunken pasks of 10-20 people in the middle of the road. Taxi ranks starting to fill up and fast food joints full of people. So placing this link here is quite relevant - Beer Blog. Yes, there is a Beer blog surprisingly enough!
Eurgh, and you need plenty of beer to stop the pain of looking at the following Yahoo news article - Yahoo's Oddly Enough. Youch!!!

Slayer Spoiler Blog

Just what it says in the title - The Spoiler Slayer. For all you Buffy fans.

Just the other day...

I was at the post office in town. I noticed that the lad in front of me was posting a video cassette to Big Brother! How sad is that?!? I was very good. I did not snigger or make any snide comment (me? I never do anything like that)... I was ready to explode with laughter at the silliness of what this guy has subjected himself to, in making this video. Just needed to comment on that in my blog to get it out of my system.
Oh, look what I found... and anti-idiot site! http://www.anti-idiot.com/

Harry Potter's new novel

J.K Rowling's new novel out soon.

Google search for Harry Potter News

J.K. Rowling's new book out in June 21 from Reuters news

Farscape is going to be cancelled!

I did not know that. There is a whole website dedicated to this - http://savefarscape.com

You can download posters (pretty cool), they are wanted posters - http://www.watchfarscape.com/campaign/posters.php

William Gibson Book Blog

Way cool! His books are great (check out his first few books like neuromancer...)
Here is the site URL - http://www.williamgibsonbooks.com/index.asp

Yay, Santa is very much alive!

Au contraire to a red-faced vicar, who thought it was funny telling children (he thought was older) that Santa is dead. Here is Santa's reply in the following BBC article : Santa: 'I'm not a Superman, but I do exist'.

Big Brother Plan in US

No-one will be safe in the US. All information of US citizens will be processed and the outcome may help prevention of terrorism. It sounds like it is from the movies, such as the recent Minority Report, but click on the following BBC News article for further reading - US eyes Big Brother plan Be afraid...be very afraid.

Integrated Smartcards for public transport

So the government is trying to bring in smartcards (like the Octopus I wrote about in one of my blogs recently). They want the cards to be first used with the Luas, but won't be available till 2005. Read the article - Transport smartcards expected by 2005 from electricnews.net. So if we do get this implemented, we would be the 3rd European country to use it (after Paris and London metros).

Composing Poetry with Sheep

I hear you say 'What?'... check it out here - Sheep are sprayed with words to create poetry from Ananova.com.

Dublin City Transport

It's still atrocious as ever! This morning, 3 buses were scheduled to arrive in 30-40min, and guess what? No buses. Huh! There were plenty of buses leaving the city but all the buses that are coming in to the city, seem to turn off the the depot, and no buses were arriving to the stop at all! There was hardly any traffic, and I was tempted to walk. But you have the nagging feeling that when you are just across the road, the bus will come, it's the "just another 5 mins" thing, I suppose...

So, since I was waiting at Parkgate St. and was not having much luck (neither were the 20 odd people standing there as well), I thought, why not go to Hueston Station? So I got there, hopped on the 90 and off to the city I go. But was that slow. Why on earth would you have bus lanes if the buses are going to be stuck anyway! I just don't know how the public transport works here at all, ok, they are crap. And they are thinking of unifying the bus and rail (Dublin)!!! They can't even get the ticket machine to dispense tickets that are used the most : the 10 journey ticket. But that will be replaced by a 7 day ticket, same price, but not as flexible as the 10 journey. Argh...! Living in the big city, you would have thought that the amenities are so near by, that it is handy to get anywhere. NOT in Dublin.

Asian & Asian-American Pop Culture

It's a magazine. They have a nice simple site: -Giant Robot Seems like they have been around for awhile. They are US-based, of course. They have their own store : - http://secure.giantrobot.com/ Get your cute, wierd and funky asian gear here!

Robbie Williams Blog

Teehee... I found Robbie Williams blog site - http://www.johnnyagogo.com/rw/index.php

World Aids Day

Participate in Link and Think for world aids day - http://www.linkandthink.org/
For more info, go to World Aids Day

Irish Transport should learn from HK

The Octopus card is like an e-cash card type thing, where the only strings attached is loosing the card (which is just like loosing cash). No personal id, a/c's info are attached to the Octopus card. You can use it on nearly all public transport (the only one left is taxis, I think), but all mass transport take it. Oh, forgot to mention what this card is. It's a card you can buy at any station (or 7-11 shop) for $6 (as deposit). You can return the card and get re-imbursed with the deposit and whatever money is leftover. So what you do is just top up the card with some dough and just swipe to get through turnstiles at train stations (none of this entering card type thing! :) ), or swipe when you get on the bus (same comment I made earlier about entering cards!). And get this... you can swipe to pay for your groceries at your local convenience store. Oh, and fastfood restaurants take it and... so does StarBucks! (heeheehee) Public transport is already years ahead, as in efficiency, technology, how's poor ol' Ireland going to catch up? (Especially with our government determination to get the LUAS going! (Ha, that will be the day...)
Have a read, it's a good article: Cash cards rule, change is passé in Hong Kong From the Mercury News

Public transport in Ireland improving?

Improving? Well, that is what I gathered from the news today about plans for our national trains and Dublin buses.

Articles from the Irish Indo online that new state of the art trains will be available from Autumn 2005.
"The new Spanish-made traincarriages unveiled yesterday will include in-seat radio and music, reading lights, table lamps, and adjustable seating." Athough this is for 1st class only. (grumble)
They will "operate on all regular Dublin-Cork services, and key Dublin-Limerick and Dublin-Galway routes" in Autumn 2005. (We'll just have to wait an see)
"Bringing them into service will allow other air-conditioned carriages, currently in use on the Dublin-Cork run, to replace older carriages on other inter-city routes." (Wow, AC trains, wonder when that would ever appear here in Ireland!)
See article (Need to register, but it's free) - Rail service unveils new €117m luxury train fleet

Tracking system for Dub buses. They are really serious about it, and are bringing it in (finally!). The idea is :
" A tracking device on the bus relays information to a central tracking station which uses satellite technology to predict when the next bus is scheduled.
A bus stop screen relays electronic information to those waiting and the tracking centre details delays caused by accidents, gridlock or other problems."
They are currently running a pilot prgram on the Lucan QBC and the Ballyfermot and Clondalkin QBCs, and are hoping to expand on it.
Check article (Need to register, but it's free) - Tracking device to let passengers know when their next service due

Robbie Williams - Part Trois

Dear dear.... 85,000 tickets sold yesterday when it went on sale yesterday! Saw it in the Sunday indo this morning...but can't find any online articles about it.... I won't be going even though it is up the road, as I do not like to end up knee high in mud, with frantic teenagers.

Robbie in the park - Part Deux

Yup, people are queuing up for the tickets already... Robbie in concert 2003 in Dublin The link is to a breaking story at http://www.irishnews.com, so not sure if it will still be there or not. (I am not making this up , expecially when it is about Robbie... no worries, my BF is still number one!)

Friday saga

Was back to Limerick for me on Friday, so my usual leave work, get bus to Heuston station(ok, I do this anyway since I live opposite Heuston!), and get my return ticket. I notice that there was a huge delay, take this one example, the 17:20 train to Limerick just started boarding at 17:50! I was thinking to myself, "Ok, what has happened now?". I know there are delays but 1/2 hour delay? So I got my ticket and went back to the appartment and packed my bag for home. I found out that there was a delay on the Portlaois line from a 10:45 Cork train to Dublin. The engine broke down and a 2nd engine sent to pull the broken down train also failed, as it was not strong enough. So the passengers endured an additional 3 hours to their 3 hours journey...

Apart from a near birth of a baby on board, everything was sorted out quick time. People will be refunded etc. etc... Well, now it's about me. I waited for the train at platform 6, waved at my BF and flatmate across the way (wishing I was back at the appartment), and got on the train the usual time. We left 10 mins later then scheduled, and arrived 5 mins late. The thing was, the train drive was profusely apolagising for the 5 mins that we were late arriving at Colbert station in Limerick, and apologises for any inconvenieces caused!!! That was an evening to remember, Iarnoid Roid Eireann apologising for being 5 mins late! Wow, I remember I was delayed for upto 1/2 hour (I think it maybe more), and not a word was said. It did not really help though, that it was on News 6 and the head of IRE was totally trashed to pieces by the newscaster at the time. That was my Friday!