Voices in my Head

Priests fight at birthplace of Jesus

2007-12-27T13:43:00.001Z

http://www.channel4.com/news/articles/world/priests+fight+at+christ+birthplace/1235847

Nice way to celebrate Christmas.On the day that Benazir Bhutto was assassinated...

Bad news for Paris Hilton

2007-12-27T12:49:00.000Z

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7161358.stm

What a tragedy ! Her grandpa is giving most of his money to charity.
Must organise a whip around to keep her in champagne.

Social Scrutiny and Tax Forms

2007-11-14T20:48:00.001Z

http://www.socialscrutiny.org/weblog.php?id=P201

David Icke and Boxcar Willy

2007-11-14T20:40:00.000Z

Click below:

david icke link

PDF of a David Icke book.See bottom p.63 for Boxcar Willy.

N.B.:Contains dodgy terms so don't open it at work etc.

Drunken reverie

2007-09-13T23:20:00.000+01:00

Search for truth is a waste of time
Learn your fucking web design

There you go

Sonnet number frigging 50.

Test posting of pic

2007-09-04T17:52:00.000+01:00

The New Fontana Dictionary of Modern Thought.An excellent reference , but constantly on loan from the library.Might have to purchase...

Hi, Jehovah here

2007-09-01T02:42:00.000+01:00

Yo people, Yahweh here.Just hangin' like. I just blasted Brendan for his blashphemy.Which is a hard thing to say with a mouthful of stuff, like.Go on now, be careful.Or I'll Do ya like.

Ascension

2007-09-01T02:36:00.000+01:00

Jesus went vertical too of course.Ascended into heavan.Zero complications.Up , vertical, and just sat there on the clouds. As if they were cushions.No telly.No email.No phone.Just hanging' with the saints and the holy dudes, and the angels and their wings , flying around like.Not even a message to say, yes I got there, everything's grand (like).

Presumably they , the lads like, were orbiting the earth (like) , with the wind billowing up their skirts like a bishop taken from behind.

And so it goes....

Mary, no takers

2007-09-01T02:33:00.000+01:00

No takers on the Mary straight up into the old Heavan thingy.Up, in, no worries.No anti-gravity, no magic, no miracles, just shoot up there, bang , job done, into the old heavan, comfy, you're grand, how bad, no worries (like).

blogs

2007-09-01T02:32:00.000+01:00

The thing is, if no one is reading it, you can post what you like....

Horse , trust.......

2007-09-01T02:31:00.000+01:00

You can’t trust a horse

http://www.socialscrutiny.org/

Climate change (doh!)

2007-09-01T02:30:00.000+01:00

http://www.channel4.com/news/themes/climate_change

get with the program (dude)

The Bible

2007-07-31T23:36:00.000+01:00

Q1. Mary's assumption into heavan: How , exactly ? straight up into the air ? If not, how did she die?

Q2. Jesus: where did he go when he 'ascended' ? Outer space ?

Q3. Adam and Eve: 3 sons ?? where did the rest of us come from ?

Q4. "bore his ear with an awl" Exodus 21.6.Why exactly ?

Websites of interest for e-commerce/web design course

2007-07-10T18:15:00.001+01:00

Websites of interest

Web Design
http://www.webmonkey.com/ - dated material

http://www.pantos.org/atw/basics.html

Web 2.0
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_2.0

HTML
http://www.w3.org/MarkUp/Guide/

Try out your HTML
http://htmlplayground.com/

Cascading Style Sheets (CSS)
http://www.w3.org/MarkUp/Guide/Style

http://htmlhelp.com/reference/css/

Browsers
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/6086798.stm

Free scripts
http://www.scriptarchive.com/

.net magazine online - see development section
http://www.netmag.co.uk/

Bad web page design
http://www.webpagesthatsuck.com/

e-commerce
http://www.ecommerce-guide.com/

ECDL
Online notes
http://80.71.99.10/ecdl.htm

Jobs
http://www.linkedin.com/

Textbooks

Free online text books
http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Main_Page

Software books online

http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Wikibooks:Computer_software_bookshelf

Films

The Guardian – 1000 Films
http://film.guardian.co.uk/1000films/0,,2108487,00.html

Broadband – How it works (U.K. site)
http://www.thinkbroadband.com/guide/howitworks/

Broadband - Irish government site
http://www.broadband.gov.ie/

Get Broadband
http://www.getbroadband.ie/

eircom broadband availability
http://mmm.eircom.ie/maps/default.asp

Broadband speed
http://www.abeltronica.com/PagInstrucoes/uk/index.html

Mobile broadband
http://www.vodafone.ie/business/emailsolutions/pc/3gbroadband/index.jsp?site=sme&bannerdesc=bus_3gbroadband_050307

Cork
See link to ‘Wireless internet in Cork’ at:
http://www.lookintoireland.com/orksee.htm

Google Earth
http://earth.google.com/download-earth.html

Free Alan Johnston

2007-04-25T22:38:00.001+01:00

Click on the above image

Operation Enduring Freedom

2007-03-21T00:24:00.000Z

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6451267.stm

Scrubber

2007-03-07T14:27:00.000Z

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6425581.stm

Naomi Campbell has been sentenced to wash floors as part of her community service.

Bobby McFerrin, Bach Prelude etc

2007-03-05T17:35:00.000Z

Bobby McFerrin clip

An amazing performance where McFerrin sings the Bach Prelude as the crowd sings the Ave Maria.There are some other versions of this on You Tube and also his Don't Worry be Happy video.Brilliant stuff.

Google Mail for all

2007-03-05T13:40:00.000Z

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/6338183.stm

Anyone can now join Google Mail .You no longer require an invitation.

Blogging

2007-03-05T12:37:00.000Z

Greetings to my reader.According to Patricia Wallace , author of 'The Psychology of the Internet', one of the behaviours of web authors is 'writing for an imaginary audience'.We write in the expectation that we have many readers and that our thoughts when expressed on a web page or blog , will have an impact.Discuss.

Beginner's Guide to the Internet

2007-02-06T14:32:00.000Z

http://www.bbc.co.uk/webwise/

Looks useful

Monday

2007-02-05T17:27:00.000Z

Monday.After Sunday and yet before Tuesday.An unassuming weekday.Double episode of Coronation Street.Will Tracy kill her baby.Will Charlie kill Tracy .Will Charlie eat Tracy's baby ? Will Tracey sell her baby ? almost.I can hardly wait.Soon Ashley's voice will be so high only the wolves will hear him.And Fred Elliot, I say Fred Elliot, is of course dead.Dead I say.Ay up lad tis nowt.And Jason the builder so thick he makes the average brickie look like Stephen Hawking.Ah yes..all life is there.

Recent CD purchases

2007-02-05T14:14:00.000Z

These are the last CDs I bought or acquired free etc.Most of the purchases were at €12 or cheaper over the last year or so.

Elvis Costello and Burt Bacharach - Painted from Memory
The Kinks - The Ultimate Collection (2 CD)
Jackson Browne - The Very Best of... (2 CD)
Mercury Prize 2004 Album of the Year
The Band - Music from Big Pink
Neil Young - On the Beach
John Cale - Close Watch - An introduction to ..
Johnny Cash - American Recordings (1)
Pink Floyd - Relics
Syd Barret - Best of (Wouldn't you want me)
Roots of Bob Dylan (free with Mojo magazine)
Various - Natural Acoustic
Various - The Who Jukebox - (free with Mojo magazine)
Various - Mod Club Party (free with Mojo magazine)
Crosby Stills and Nash - Greatest Hits
Various - The Quiet Revolution , a summer folk compendium (free with Mojo magazine)
Various - Mojo presents Experienced! - (..Jimi Hendrix) (free with Mojo magazine)
Bob Dylan - Love and Theft
Pixies - Surfer Rosa and Come on Pilgrim (9.95)
Tom Waits - Blood Money
Tom Waits - Nighthawks at the diner
John Spillane - Hey Dreamer (Special Edition)
Jeff Buckley - Grace
Madness - Complete Madness (9.99)
Patti Smith - Easter (7.99)
Kate Bush - The Whole Story (9.99)
Mercury Prize 2006 Album of the Year (9.99)
Billy Bragg - Must I paint you a picture , The Essential (2CD) (14.95)
Mojo Presents - Love will tear you apart

So there.Chew on that for a while!

Pinochet

2006-12-05T09:48:00.000Z

Pinochet is dying.Good.Hope he experiences maximum agony.

Margaret Thatcher's great friend and ally : the man whose troops rounded up political opponents into a football stadium and shot them dead.

Bye bye Augusto.

Free Software

2006-12-05T09:47:00.000Z

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portal:Free_software

Enjoy

Analyse this!

2006-09-22T09:39:00.000+01:00

Some doodles of mine.

Usually done when watching tv, in absent-minded mode.

Amocom speeds

2006-09-20T14:04:00.000+01:00

2 M / 905 k this afternoon

1.98M / 937k 6pm

Amcom speed

2006-09-20T12:46:00.000+01:00

1.84 M downstream, 561k upstream
Measured using Smart's tester.
12.40pm

:) Voices in your head are normal says BBC

2006-09-18T22:09:00.000+01:00

http://newsvote.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/5346930.stm

So , I'm normal.Its ok to hear voices in your head.
So my blog title is no big deal .

What's that ? oh yeah you're right.

Sorry just listening to one of the voices there...

hmmm ? no I'm fine....

Revelations

2006-09-16T21:20:00.000+01:00

Just watched a documentary on the Book of Revelations.V interesting.Looks like these Endtimers are winding up for Armageddon.

http://contenderministries.org/prophecy/endtimes.php

The theory is that we are approaching the End Times and earthquakes, wars etc are all portents that the End is Nigh.Needless to say American evangelists are very big into Endtimes but the more dangerous aspect of this line of thinking is that it is being used as a reason to back Israel financially, support illegal settlements on the West Bank etc.

Some of the evangelicals are adamant that the Bible tells them there will be a war and that they must fight..grooaaaaaaaaaannnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn.

Do any of these people ever cop them selves on ??

Revelations is such unbelievable tripe - its amazing to hear otherwise sane adults discussing it as if it had some meaning.It was most likely written by some guy out of his skull on magic mushrooms or whatever the Greek equivalent was in those days.

There.I feel better now :)

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah

The Hanging Munchkin ?

2006-08-08T15:52:00.000+01:00

http://www.snopes.com/movies/films/ozsuicid.htm

There is a rumour that one of the actors playing a Munchkin in the film of The Wizard of Oz hanged himself ....and that this is visible in the film.The attached page and video clip seem to show a bird - a crane - in the centre background in the last few seconds of the clip.Looks like a crane stretching out his neck.

The French are back!

2006-08-03T08:18:00.000+01:00

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/5240572.stm

French Fries are back in place of Freedom Fries at the U.S. House of Representatives' canteens.

Pimp my broadband

2006-08-02T19:05:00.000+01:00

Can anyone provide a decent broadband service in Ballygarvan ? I'm with Smart but it is poor and the speed regularly drops to below that of dialup .Tech support is non-existent. Amocom might be able to provide a wireless service, eircom have no plans at the moment and AHC may be able to do something.

Given that there are 170 or so houses due to be built here shortly, it might reward some provider to get in first with a decent offering.

Vodafone are now offering 3G data cards for laptops at €49 per month.This may come down if O2 and others enter the market.

Mad Mel

2006-07-31T14:39:00.000+01:00

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/5230480.stm

Its bad enough he's peddling such shite as The Passion of the Christ with its orgy of violence supposedly to make us "believe" but now he's up for drunk driving and allegedly verbally abused the arresting officer.And he allegedly made anti-semitic comments.Is there anything he can't fuck up ?

How a US Senator thinks the Internet works

2006-07-27T17:00:00.000+01:00

http://blog.wired.com/27BStroke6/?entry_id=1512499

Was led to this from Dave Farber's Interesting People archives .Its hilarious.I will amend this post later to credit the blog where I found the link.Great stuff.

Pringles :)

2006-07-27T11:01:00.000+01:00

"I think Pringles' initial intention was to make tennis balls. But on the day that the rubber was supposed to show up, a big truckload of potatoes arrived. But Pringles is a laidback company. They said "Screw it. Cut em up." from the late comedian Mitch Hedberg. (Strategic Grill Locations and Mitch All Together)

from http://www.binarywolf.com/249/ a site which shows you how to make a DIY wireless antenna using a Pringles tin! Yes , I do have too much time on my hands :)

Hezbollah

2006-07-26T08:12:00.000+01:00

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4314423.stm

Some background on Hezbollah.A question which occurs to me is why have the Lebanese government not taken them on and prevented them attacking Israel ? The attack by Israel looks like collective punishment of the Lebanese people for not doing so.I realise the Lebanese government is militarily weak and does have Hezbollah ministers but the Israeli attacks must cause some reaction.Looks like there will be an international force deployed to replace the ineffective UNIFIL.

Also today it will interesting to see what the repercussions will be after Israel apparently debliberately targeted a U.N. position and killed 4 U.N. observers.From the BBC website again:

'UN Secretary General Kofi Annan said he was "shocked" at the "apparently deliberate targeting" of the post. Israel has expressed "deep regret".'

Lebanon - Middle East Buddy List

2006-07-25T09:52:00.000+01:00

http://www.slate.com/features/2006mideast/middleeast.html

Click on each square to see who are friends or enemies .Interesting.

The English newspaper The Independent's front page today analyses the options for Israel in Lebanon.There are no simple solutions.

I believe Israel had to do something about Hezbollah but their response has been excessive, with too many civilian casualties and the country devastated.I would like to see an international force deployed in southern Lebanon but they need to have adequate rules of engagement , as UNIFIL is ineffective.The weak Lebanese government is a major contributor to the chaos.

It remains to be seen if Conoleeza Rice's diplomatic initiative has any positive results.

Crazy Diamond shines no more

2006-07-11T18:52:00.000+01:00

Syd Barrett, founder member of Pink Floyd and the subject of the song Shine on you Crazy Diamond, has passed away aged 60.Author of two of early Floyd's best songs Arnold Layne and See Emily Play, Barrett left the group as they became famous and he lived reclusively afterwards.

The CD "Wouldn't you miss me - The Best of.." is a collection of his solo work.

BBC link to Syd Barrett

Zidane's inglorious exit

2006-07-10T09:47:00.000+01:00

Link to BBC report

It wasn't meant to end like this.

His final game : the possibility of a coronation with a second world cup triumph for the game's best player, and 10 seconds of madness ends it all.Zidane's explosive loss of temper , his headbutt of Matzerati, resulted in his dismissal, leaving France to contest a penalty shootout without their star player.Italy were cooler converting all 5 penalties to claim the trophy.

The speculation is that the Italian said something provocative, and Zidane , who was walking away, turned around and headbutted him in the chest.The 4th official reported it to the referee and the frenchman was shown the red card, shocking millions of viewers.Matzerati was silent when asked about the incident , leading to speculation that he did say something.But there is no excusing Zidane's actions.He had to go.

A terrible way to end your international career.

Top of the Pops hits the rocks

2006-06-21T21:06:00.000+01:00

Top of The Pops has been axed by the BBC.The chart show is apparently not suited to the faster pace of today's world where teenagers download singles and videos to mobile phones.
I'm not sure about the logic of that .Why not keep it going and put podcasts of the performances on the web: get the best of both worlds ?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/5101464.stm

Haughey still dead shock

2006-06-20T08:52:00.000+01:00

In a surprise development this week, Charles Hockey, ex-Irish supremo, AIB account holder extraordinaire, and emperor of Europe, failed to rise from the dead.Disciples were puzzled at the no-show , claiming a plot by Fine Gale, the political wing of the Black and Tans.The tomb, to the consternation of all concerned, remains occupied, though strange angelic-like creatures have been seen and heard on the airwaves extolling the virtues of the Blessed One.

Charles Haughey, the grandson of Finn McCool, and brother-in-law of Cuchullainn, led the Irish people for 400 years , thro famine, fire and Fine Girl coalition governments, until the British yoke was finally thrown off and the Irish race began forging in the smithy of their soul yada yada yada.

His like will not be seen again for oh about 6 months.

Tony the Marxist

2006-06-15T08:07:00.000+01:00

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/5081798.stm

Interesting quotes from Mr Blair in his youth

By the ranks of my own lovely Lees

2006-06-13T15:52:00.000+01:00

South Korea's line-up for today's match against Togo contains 5 Lees.

* 01 W Lee
* 02 Y Kim yellow card
* 04 J Choi
* 06 J Kim (45 J Ahn )
* 12 Y Lee
* 22 C Song
* 07 J Park
* 13 E Lee (68 N Kim )
* 17 H Lee
* 14 C Lee yellow card
* 19 J Cho (83 S Kim )

Roy

2006-06-13T08:13:00.000+01:00

Roy Keane, BBC website

Video clip

"The best midfielder of his generation"..."walked out on his country"...To say opinion is divided on Roy Keane , who announced his retirement this week, would be an understatement.Some have never forgiven him for departing the World Cup in Saipan in 2002 as manager Mick McCarthy sent him home.My own view is that Keane behaved badly on that occasion but he was correct in the substance of what he said about poor preparation.McCarthy should have disciplined him, taken him aside, sorted it and ensured that Ireland's best player was on the field.That's what managing is about, right ?

Keane was one of the few who went there to play as if Ireland could win the tournament, and however silly that sounds , it was that attitude that has brought him 10 domestic trophies in Britain.

His fierce competitive streak, driving runs, vision, allied to skill and committment, led Alex Ferguson to state that he was the best to have played for him.His absence from the United team has seen a decline.

Cork is proud of Roy Keane who, despite his faults, brought glory to Manchester United and led Ireland with distinction.He will be missed.

The Avengers - Emma Peal

2006-06-07T12:31:00.000+01:00

Emma Peal was named to appeal to men: M-Appeal geddit ? Good one

quote :)

2006-06-03T11:46:00.000+01:00

Great quote on tv the other night.About David Dickinson , the perma tanned presenter of that antiques programme:

"He's like Peter Stringfellow's loved child with a mahogany hat stand"

Democracy

2006-05-31T13:45:00.000+01:00

The Irish Examiner today quotes Eithne Fitzgerald at the Mahon Planning Tribunal yesterday, where she said:
"Dublin County Council conducted the business developers wanted done rather than being driven by regard for the wellbeing of the people".

This seems to be the norm nowadays.The idea that our public representatives are there to represent us and enforce laws and regulations for the betterment of society , seems to be a naive view.The notion of democracy , i.e. government by the many, seems to have fallen by the wayside as our so-called representatives spend more time with builders' lobbyists than they do asking how they can help the little guy, or actually doing their job.

We, the electorate , are to blame.We vote every 5 years or so, then hand over all responsibility to the TDs, who hand over all responsibilty to the government.Every act then undertaken by cabinet is rubberstamped by a compliant backbenchers.TDs trot through the lobbies, voting for the government, rarely consulting their constituents on how they should vote.When was the last time your TD asked you how he or she should vote on an issue ?

Existing paraliamentary procedure is archaic in these days of electronic mass communication. We perpetuate the old ways of doing things , too busy to take an interest ourselves.Then we blame the politicians when we don't get what we want.

It doesn't help that there is virtually no choice at election time.FF versus FG, with Labour making up the numbers.As if Fianna Fáil actually differed from Fine Gael on anything substantive.Looks like we will be stuck with this lot for the foreseeable future.

Irish Government Website

2006-05-31T10:53:00.000+01:00

http://oasis.gov.ie/

Lots of good information here

Lesbian

2006-05-30T20:39:00.000+01:00

http://www.youtube.com/results?tag=di&sort=rating_sort

Scroll down to the song " I wish I was a Lésbian" by Loudon Wainright III - a classic :)

Risque cartoon video clip

Smart Telecom - 4k Broadband

2006-05-29T11:31:00.000+01:00

4.04 k just now

for a BROADBAND service :)

Hello Smart Telecom, anyone at home ???

2006-05-29T11:22:00.000+01:00

I have a broadband service provide by Smart telecom.According to the invoice which I receive promptly every month, the speeds are 2MB/128 , which I understand is for 2 MB download speed and 128 k upload speed.The following are the download speeds I measured today using Smart's own speed tester at

http://support.smarttelecom.ie/bbspeedtool.htm

Mon 29 May 2006

92.5 k 10.30am

10k 11.05am

2.36k 11.07am

45.4 11.12am

48.1k 11.14

I rang Smart months ago about this.They were going to get back to me.
They have not contacted me since.
The problem keeps recurring.

Have to put up with it I suppose.There is no technical support offered as their Support line does not respond to calls for Ballygarvan i.e. problems either do not appear to be reported to anyone who can actually correct the faults, or they are reported and nothing is done about it.

The problem appears to be with the Wi-Fi technology they are using here in Ballygarvan.A friend of mine in Dublin has no problems with their DSL service which works over the copper wires of his telephone line.He regularly gets 3 MB or higher.

Smart Telecom - 25 k broadband

2006-05-28T14:03:00.000+01:00

Current speed 25 k

woeful

Books - a quote

2006-05-28T13:40:00.000+01:00

From Groucho:

"Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend.Inside of a dog it's too dark to read"

like it, like it....

found that one in the brochure for the West Cork Literary Festival (Bantry, 2nd - 7th July 2006).

Engineer for hire

2006-05-28T12:08:00.000+01:00

Hi I need a job and am available immediately in the Cork area.

20 years experience of I.T. and Telecoms including

- Project Management skills
- Training course design , development and delivery
- Management skills
- Certified Accountant (C.Dip.AF)
- Experienced Internet user
- Mac and PC user
- Wide knowledge of telecoms and ICT
- Website design using FrontPage and HTML
- Presently studying for a Masters Degree in Internet Systems (MSc.) by distance learning

I am not looking for a large salary and am prepared to work at anything.My concern is to get back into employment.

Leave a comment if you are interested.

Smart Telecom - S-L-O-W Broadband

2006-05-14T11:46:00.000+01:00

The dreadful service from Smart Telecom continues.While speeds are usually around the 700k mark, they have never reached 2 MB as measured on my PC.

Speeds measured on my PC this morning, using Smart's own Speed Tool at:

http://support.smarttelecom.ie/bbspeedtool.htm

11.00 51 k
11.24 18 k
11.25 73 k
11.43 4.72 k , yes..... 4.72 k

This drop in speed - now a regular occurrence - means I cannot access certain websites as they timeout before the page loads.As there is no other provider in this area, I am stuck.

See this recent article in the Sunday Business Post on Ireland's failure in the broadband area:

http://archives.tcm.ie/businesspost/2005/02/20/story2505.asp

Broadband - Ireland in the relegation zone

2006-05-04T08:47:00.000+01:00

http://www.enn.ie/news.html?code=9650270

From 21 October 2005

"This time the survey comes courtesy of ECTA, the European association of alternative telecom service providers, which positioned Ireland 14th out of the 15 European Union Member States. Embarrassingly, the report shows that Ireland has been overtaken in terms of broadband penetration by some of the new EU member states, like Hungary, Slovenia and Lithuania. "

It goes on:

"ECTA outlines the damage that has been done to the Irish broadband market by the slow processes in place for unbundling the local loop.

It concludes that the leading broadband countries are those where competitors have been able to come in and build a share of the market using competing technologies. In these countries there is competition in broadband from DSL, LLU, and from cable networks.

"The evidence is clear: in France and the UK where action was taken on local loop unbundling and bitstream, they moved up three places in the broadband league table in 18 months," said Tom Hickey, chairman of ALTO, which represents ECTA in Ireland. "Italy also rose two places in the past two years as a result of its policy of building a path towards competition through bitstream and local loop unbundling; the countries at the top of the table are those with the highest LLU rates," Hickey concluded."

Jesus

2006-05-02T20:29:00.000+01:00

http://www.temsgroup.org.uk/JesusandBuddhism.htm

Interesting documentary last night on BBC4 about the possibility that Jesus spent some time in Kashmir between the ages of 14 and 30.This would explain the 'missing years'. The tomb of Yus Assaf , in Kashmir, is believe by some to be the tomb of Jesus.

Also considers the idea that Jesus got many of his ideas from Buddhist philosophy.

Satire

2006-05-02T20:23:00.000+01:00

http://www.socialscrutiny.org/

Very funny UK site.
Check out the Tax Forms.

Kevin Myers

2006-05-02T17:58:00.000+01:00

I see that Kevin Myers has departed from The Irish Times.I have mixed feelings about this.A bit like watching your mother-in-law drive over a cliff in your brand new Lambourghini ....
He is very entertaining at times but then drives me around the bend with things like his pro-Iraq war stance.He went down in my estimation when he tried to justify the use of the term "bastard" for children born out of wedlock.He received the backing, on that occasion, of another stalwart liberal-basher Mary Ellen Synon, (deliver us from.....).

Anyway, he's gone and the top right corner (how appropriate) of the letters page will be the duller for that.

Newsflash!

2006-05-02T17:56:00.000+01:00

I am hungry and I am going to eat something now.Hows that for a zeitgeisty , up-to-the minute , cuting edge blogosphere self-centred post!

Smart Telecom

2006-05-02T17:51:00.000+01:00

Does anyone know how to get Smart Telecom to actually respond to customer queries ? I have called them , emailed them etc. but no result. I got one email response telling me to call their Customer Service number.When I did , I was waiting for 20 minutes in a queue before I decided to leave a voicemail message .No one came back to me.That was weeks ago.What a joke!

"Its not magic, its Smart"

Well they're half right anyway.

Dictionary

2006-04-26T22:00:00.000+01:00

Got a CD free with a PC mag yesterday.It has a Talking Webster's Dictionary which speaks the words.It pronounces them for you.Excellent.Quite a lot of words, actually. 200,000 definitions ......hmmmmm.... 200,ooo.....and I keep clicking on the word FART ...... :)

fart, fart, fart

Tom Cruise and Scientology

2006-04-24T10:31:00.001+01:00

Tom Cruise recently made some interesting remarks after girlfriend Katie Holmes gave birth to their baby. According to RTE's website

http://www.rte.ie/arts/2006/0418/cruiset.html

he was going to eat the placenta.Yum yum. He also wanted Holmes to give birth in silence, which must have been fun.According to RTE:

'Cruise told GQ magazine: "I'm gonna eat the placenta. I thought that would be good. Very nutritious. I'm gonna eat the cord and the placenta right there."

Cruise has also claimed he knew that Katie Holmes was pregnant before she told him.

He has also defended the Scientology belief that women should give birth in silence.

"It's really about respecting the woman. It's not about her not screaming," he told GQ.'

===========

The word "balmpot" springs to mind.....

Cruise is of course a Scientologist, which requires adhering to a set of beliefs which are completely risible.

L.Ron Hubbard, the founder of Scientology, was an advocate of 'Dianetics', a sort of pseduo-science which he claimed could cure anything.Hmm, ok...He also made millions from writing science fiction.

Wikipedia has an extensive page on Hubbard:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L_Ron_Hubbard

See also:

http://www.ronthenut.org/

For a critique of Dianetics see:

http://skepdic.com/dianetic.html

For a discussion on Hubbard and his approach to science see:

http://skepdic.com/refuge/hubbard.html

The Church of Scientology - Yes it became a Church and a Religion - is a controversial organisation which has been reported as acting like a cult depriving members of their finances, keeping them from contacting their families etc.This has not stopped them attracting many celebrity members like Cruise, John Travolta , Nicole Kidman, Priscilla Presley etc.

1916

2006-03-28T09:11:00.000+01:00

There's a supplement in Irish Times newspaper today on the 90th anniversary of 1916 Easter Rising, that great touchstone of Irish Republicanism.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Easter_Rising

"...a militarily unsuccessful rebellion staged in Ireland against British rule on Easter Monday in April 1916. Nevertheless, despite its military failure, it can be judged as being a significant stepping-stone in the eventual creation of the Irish Republic."

Interesting stuff.

Will probably spark debate along well-worn lines.Did they have a mandate ? No.
Was the Sinn Féin victory in the 1918 Westminster election a retrospective vindication ? Maybe.The Provisional IRA - and their anti-treaty predecessors in 1921 etc - take their inspiration from the Easter Rising seeing it as the birth of the Republic, and are not swayed by issues of democratic mandate etc.Of course the Free Staters fought alongside them in 1916 and yet were content(?) to sign the Treaty.One major legacy of the Civil War was the creation of two major political parties who contended politically thereafter.

God - the response

2006-03-24T09:56:00.000Z

God's office just rang me there regarding the previous post (see below).He is not pleased.Lightning bolts to follow.

God - Customer Service

2006-03-24T09:54:00.000Z

Got this by email today :)

====================================

God would like to thank you for your belief and patronage. In order to
better serve your needs, He asks that you take a few moments to answer the
following questions. Please keep in mind that your responses will be kept
completely confidential, and that you need not disclose your name or
address
unless you prefer a direct response to comments or suggestions.

1. How did you find out about your Deity?
___ Newspaper
___ Bible
___ Torah
___ Book of Mormon
___ Koran
___ Divine inspiration
___ Dead Sea Scrolls
___ My mama done tol' me
___ Near-death experience
___ Near-life experience
___ National Public Radio
___ Tabloid
___ Burning shrubbery
___ Other (specify): _____________

2. Which model Deity did you acquire?
___ Yahweh
___ Father, Son & Holy Ghost [Trinity Pak]
___ Jehovah
___ Jesus
___ Krishna
___ Zeus and entourage [Olympus Pak]
___ Odin and entourage [Valhalla Pak]
___ Allah
___ Satan
___ Gaia/Mother Earth/Mother Nature
___ God 1.0a (hairy thunderer)
___ God 1.0b (cosmic muffin)
___ None of the above; I was taken in by a false god

3. Did your God come to you undamaged, with all parts in good working
order
and with no obvious breakage or missing attributes?
___ Yes___ No
If no, please describe the problems you initially encountered here. Please
indicate all that apply:
___ Not eternal
___ Finite in space/Does not occupy or inhabit the entire cosmos
___ Not omniscient
___ Not omnipotent
___ Not infinitely plastic (incapable of being all things to all
creations)
___ Permits sex outside of marriage
___ Prohibits sex outside of marriage
___ Makes mistakes (Geraldo Rivera, Jesse Helms)
___ Makes or permits bad things to happen to good people
___ When beseeched, doesn't stay beseeched
___ Requires burnt offerings
___ Requires virgin sacrifices
___ Plays dice with the universe

4. What factors were relevant in your decision to acquire a Deity? Please
check all that apply.
___ Indoctrinated by parents
___ Needed a reason to live
___ Indoctrinated by society
___ Needed focus in whom to despise
___ Imaginary friend grew up
___ Wanted to know Jesus in the Biblical sense
___ Graduated from the tooth fairy
___ Hate to think for myself
___ Wanted to meet girls/boys
___ Fear of death
___ Wanted to piss off parents
___ Needed a day away from work
___ Desperate need for certainty
___ Like organ music
___ Need to feel morally superior
___ Thought Jerry Falwell was cool
___ My shrubbery caught fire and told me to do it

5. Have you ever worshipped a Deity before? If so, which false god were
you
fooled by? Please check all that apply.
___ Mick Jagger
___ Rajanish
___ Baal
___ The almighty dollar
___ Bill Gates
___ Left-wing liberalism
___ The radical right
___ Ra
___ Beelzebub
___ Barney T.B.P.D.
___ The Great Spirit
___ The Great Pumpkin
___ The sun
___ Elvis
___ Cindy Crawford
___ The moon
___ TV news
___ Burning shrubbery
___ Other: ________________

6. Are you currently using any other source of inspiration in addition to
God?
Please check all that apply.
__ Tarot __ Lottery __ Astrology
__ Television __ Fortune cookies __ Ann Landers
__ Psychic Friends Network __ Dianetics __ Palmistry
__ Biorhythms __ Alcohol __ Bill Clinton
__ Tea leaves __ EST __ CompuServe
__ Mantras __ Jimmy Swaggert __ Crystals (not
including Crystal Gayle)
__ Human sacrifice __ Pyramids __ Wandering in a
desert
__ Burning shrubbery __ Barney T.B.P.D. __ Barney Fife
__ Other:___________

7. God employs a limited degree of divine intervention to preserve the
balanced level of felt presence and blind faith. Which would you prefer
(circle one)?
a. More divine intervention

b. Less divine intervention
c. Current level of divine intervention is just right
d. Don't know...what's divine intervention?

8. God also attempts to maintain a balanced level of disasters and
miracles. Please rate on a scale of 1 - 5 his handling of the following
(1=unsatisfactory, 5=excellent)Big Grin
flood 1 2 3 4 5
famine 1 2 3 4 5
earthquake 1 2 3 4 5
war 1 2 3 4 5
pestilence 1 2 3 4 5
plague 1 2 3 4 5
spam 1 2 3 4 5
AOL 1 2 3 4 5

Miracles:
rescues 1 2 3 4 5
spontaneous remissions 1 2 3 4 5
stars hovering over jerkwater towns 1 2 3 4 5
crying statues 1 2 3 4 5
water changing to wine 1 2 3 4 5
walking on water 1 2 3 4 5
VCRs that set their own clocks1 2 3 4 5
Saddam Hussein still alive 1 2 3 4 5
getting any sex whatsoever 1 2 3 4 5

9. Do you have any additional comments or suggestions for improving the
quality of God's services? (Attach an additional sheet if necessary.)
If you are able to complete the questionnaire and return it to one ofour
conveniently located drop-off boxes by October 31 you will be entered in
the One Free Miracle of Your Choice drawing (chances of winning are
approximately one in 6.023 x 10 to the 23d power, depending on number of
beings entered).

Herr Bruton

2006-03-21T14:08:00.000Z

I nearly spilled my skinny latté this morning as Gunther...I'm sorry I mean Minister McDowell actually apologised for his outburst yesterday when he likened Richard Bruton T.D. to Joseph Goebbels, the Nazi minister responsible for propoganda.The apparent background to this was that Bruton had made selective use of figures to suggest that the number of Gardaí had only increased by 2 in the course of 2005.Minister Michael went berserk at this and came charging out to the awaiting media scribes with pages of statistics which he claimed showed the true story.The Irish Times analyses the figures today and shows that while Bruton was technically correct for the dates he quoted, makes it clear that choosing different dates would have resulted in a different impression being created.The figures quoted by the Times show an annual increase year by year from 2002 to 2005 .McDowell , the Times points out, never actually said Bruton's figures were wrong.

They were at it on the tv yesterday like two schoolchildren .

McDowell obviously had some PR advice last night and came out all mea culpa today ."I played the ball not the man.." said the errant PD Stormtrooper, as he did the decent thing and ....apologised.I wonder if he's ill ?

Bin Laden Dead shock!

2006-03-19T10:19:00.000Z

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/1702453.stm

Deep Reflection

2006-03-15T21:04:00.000Z

Blog...blog..what to blog....this blog thing is peculiar.I blog in bursts.Some days I have lots to say : other days I'm silent - believe it or not - or too busy with other stuff.Blogs like this , which do not have a single theme but which touch on anything, are probably not as popular as those focusing on one area e.g. www.sluggerotoole.com

which is an excellent blog on all matters pertaining to Northern Ireland.Or The Occupied Territories , if you prefer.

Flying Saucers for British Rail

2006-03-13T13:58:00.000Z

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/4801928.stm

you think this is a joke, right ? No joke.

Dylan

2006-03-10T09:49:00.000Z

Yes! Got tickets for the Dylan concert in the Marquee in Cork on 25th June.Well done Oran! Must learn off all the words now ;)

A novel approach

2006-03-09T14:14:00.000Z

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4789144.stm

Mexican government using blow up dolls..in a campaign against sexual harassment.

1 minute movies

2006-03-09T13:35:00.000Z

http://www.bbc.co.uk/films/oneminutemovies/

No 1. (A L0ve Story) is hilarious

Film website

2006-03-09T13:29:00.000Z

http://www.bbc.co.uk/film/

Lots of links to films here.Good site.

Wireless hotspots

2006-03-09T13:18:00.000Z

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/4758722.stm

Wi-Fi explained

Dylan

2006-03-09T13:14:00.000Z

Bob Dylan is playing the Marquee in Cork on 25 June.I've never seen him live. Hope to buy tickets tomorrow.Fingers crossed.Saw Brian Wilson in this series of concerts last year and it was great.

Hurst promotes German World Cup

2006-03-09T10:30:00.000Z

Britain's venerable newsprint "organ" The Sun is apoplectic this morning at the news that England World Cup hat-trick hero Geoff Hurst will be helping Germany promote the World Cup in the Fatherland this year. "Geoff Hurst's rat-trick" bawls the headline.In a fine example of kicking yesterday's hero, the Sun asks where England would have been if Hurst had been in the "German's pay packet in '66" , missing the header, straying into the offside trap etc.

Three goals in a World Cup Final and it still isn't good enough for The Sun.

Day of laughter

2006-03-09T10:20:00.000Z

An international day of laughter will be held today following Liverpool's exit from the Champions League.The champions underperformed last night and were eliminated by a less-than-impressive Benfica.Liverpool never seemed to produce the onslaught expected and were killed off by a great strike by Simao.Benfica's second minutes from time was the nail in the coffin.

Arsenal are now the UK's sole representatives in the quarter finals after an excellent 0-0 draw in Madrid.The quarter-final draw is on Eurosport at 11.15am Friday.

God

2006-03-02T11:29:00.000Z

Guy just knocked on my door (This is not a knock knock joke btw).Hands me a colour sheet with fancy graphics about GOD."Its Free" , he said (the guy, that is, not God).I told him no thanks and said he was probably wasting his time.
Ok, he said.
He was American .The guy that is.
I'm not sure whether he came all the way from America and said hang on to love girl.I'm sorry I'll read that again. I'm not sure whether he came all the way from America to see me individually about God.That seems unlikely.He probably lives in Ireland and thinks we need more information about Yahweh.Like we don't have enough.
Maybe I should follow him and give him an article about atheism.Spread the word and all that.I probably won't track him to America though.That would be silly.

March

2006-03-01T00:41:00.000Z

In like a Lion, out like a Lamb

Drunk???

2006-03-01T00:38:00.000Z

Drunk ??? me???? at night ????? Don't be ridiculous!!!

daydream, I fell asleep among the flowers.......

Daydream...

2006-03-01T00:37:00.000Z

Daydream, I fell asleep amid the flowers, for a couple of hours, on a beautiful day.
Daydream, I dreamed of you amid the flowers, for a couple of hours, such a beautiful day.
I dreamed of the places I've been with you, how we sat with the stream flowing by. And then when I kissed you & held you so near, tell me why, tell me why, you're so shy.
Daydream, I fell asleep amid the flowers, for a couple of hours, on a beautiful day.
Daydream, come share a dream beneath the flowers, for a couple of hours, on a beautiful day.
I dreamed of the places I've been with you, how we sat with the stream flowing by. And then when I kissed you & held you so near, tell me why, tell me why, you're so shy.
Daydream, I sing with you amid the flowers, for a couple of hours, singing all of the day.
La-la-la-la-la-la-la-la etc....

I fell asleep among the flowers

2006-03-01T00:30:00.000Z

http://houbi.com/belpop/groups/wallacecollection.htm

"..for a couple of hours"

great song ,used in TV ad.

Get yourself some free software

2006-02-28T19:41:00.000Z

http://www.download.com/

Great site with loads of free downloads for home , work, mobile phone etc.Just downloaded SmartFTP , a free FTP program .

Binary T-shirt

2006-02-27T16:29:00.000Z

http://www.cashncarrion.co.uk/products/16104/685/

Dowcha Boy!

2006-02-27T16:25:00.000Z

http://corkslang.com/

check it out (like)

you'll be flahed out after reading it.Like.

Philosophy - Brian Magee

2006-02-27T16:23:00.000Z

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bryan_Magee

Good writer.Check out "The Great Philosophers" .Very readable.A good introduction to the subject.

The Enlightenment

2006-02-27T16:21:00.000Z

http://www.wsu.edu:8080/~brians/hum_303/enlightenment.html

Fundamentalists take note

Haughey junior

2006-02-27T16:19:00.000Z

I see the Napoleonic Complex is alive in well in the Haughey genes with Seán whinging about not getting into the cabinet like the other boys and girls....Give me strength...

Annoying radio hosts

2006-02-27T16:17:00.000Z

10.00 Mooney Goes Wild on One
10.01 Brendan goes Wild in the Kitchen!

have you ever listened to it ?
groooooaaaaaaaaannnnnnnnnnnn

Da Vinci Code - website

2006-02-27T14:16:00.000Z

http://www.danbrown.com/novels/davinci_code/reviews.html

Dan Brown's website contains info on all of his books.Check out the photo section which has pics of all the main sites in DVC e.g. San Sulpice. The Louvre etc.

See links at top of page to : Secrets, Photo galleries, Da Vinci Code

Da Vinci Code - Court Case

2006-02-27T14:07:00.000Z

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/4754308.stm

The authors of 'Holy Blood Holy Grail' are suing 'The Da Vinci Code ' author Dan Brown for plagiarism.
I read both books.HBHG is a hypothesis, which is persuasive in parts but inconclusive.

Da Vinci Code was a great read: a work of fiction.It is undoubetdly based on HBHG but a lot of the information was out there before HBHG authors Baigent , Lee et al wrote their book.

Both are worth reading.

Morons

2006-02-27T09:35:00.000Z

The scenes in Dublin on Saturday were a disgrace.It may not have been the wisest move to plan a Unionist march down O'Connell St. but in a free democratic society people have the right to march, protest and have their voice heard.Many of those who planned to march were relatives of victims of IRA violence.Others , e.g. those connected with the Orange Order, were more politically motivated. It was also unwise to have a Loyalist marching band in their regalia : such scenes acted as a red rag to a bull.

Events are well described elsewhere, but it was shameful to see the hooligans living up to Unionist stereotypes of nationalists as violent and intolerant.Battering the Gardaí with paving slabs, bottles and other missiles is unacceptable behaviour.These were vicious attacks by a hooligan element.Torching of cars, vandalism of property, looting of shops all followed.

The protest is believed to have been organised by Republican Sinn Fein , a minority dissident group who , in their newspaper , called for the march to be stopped. They succeeded in this goal. RSF are the political wing of the Continuity IRA, a terrorist group who do not accept the Good Friday Agreement and do not recognise the Irish parliament , Dail Eireann .Hardly surprising then that RSF members, whose placards were visible at the protest, do not have qualms about violently attacking the police force.

What was wrong with a peaceful protest against the Unionist march? by reacting violently, they have given Unionists a massive propoganda weapon.

Irresponsible but hardly surprising.

Blogs

2006-02-26T10:46:00.000Z

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/4747818.stm

interesting article from BBC website

The Brick Testament

2006-02-26T10:22:00.000Z

http://www.thebricktestament.com/

The Old Testament ...in Lego

Has to be seen to be believed.
Sublime.

Kurt Vonnegut - quote :)

2006-02-26T10:14:00.000Z

"The last thing I ever wanted was to be alive when the three most powerful people on the planet were named Bush , Dick and Colon "

Ferguson - Losing it ?

2006-02-26T10:01:00.000Z

Man United manager, Sir Alex Ferguson has had some interesting things to day about the League Cup , the final of which United are contesting today against Wigan.United are desperate for a trophy after last year's under-achieving season and this year's early exits from the Champions League and FA Cup.Interesting then that in 2003 he dismissed the League Cup as being " just for the kids".This was reflected in the absence of big name first team players from United's games in the competition.Not this year though.The big guns are there for every game.How times have changed.

Another Ferguson pathetic excuse was that " it is harder to win trophies these days" because there's more competition.

This man would want to get his act together.

The midfield was non-existent against Liverpool in the Cup.United have not replaced Keane - hard though that might be - and along the way have made poor decisions in the transfer market e.g. Djemba Djemba .Also Fergie appears to have a soft spot for fellow Scot Darren Fletcher who I feel is not up to it.

Shopping list: 3 midfielders

CDs

2006-02-18T09:05:00.000Z

Last few purchases: All good.

Morrisey - You are the Quarry
Amusing lyrics as ever.
Great song titles include "All the lazy dykes"
Bought the 2-CD version which has a "bonus collection of B-sides"

Ramones Anthology- 57 tracks €8.95.Bargain!
Patti Smith - Trampin'
Kate Bush - Aerial, her first in 12 years.2 CDs: First is a straightforward collection of songs.Great first track about Elvis.2nd CD is an extended experimental piece wiht birdsong etc.Takes a while to get into but very good overall.
Mojo magazine had it as No 3 of 2005
No 1 was Anthony and The Johnsons - I am a Bird Now
No 2 was Arcade Fire - Funeral

btw , according to Mojo, Arcade Fire did soundtrack for final scene of tv show Six Feet Under.

REM - Singles collected €7.99 in sale.
20 tracks... from Radio Free Europe , King of the Road, to End of the World as we know it..

Teenage Kicks - Various
2-CD <--- seems to be a :) pattern here ?

Undertones, Jam, Blondie, Clash, Jilted John , Buzzcocks, Madness ..etc etc
Music from my college years.Great collection
Remember The Ruts "Babylon's Burning" ? brilliant.

that should keep you going for a while

Kurt Vonnegut website

2006-02-18T08:50:00.000Z

http://www.vonnegut.com/

Lists books etc