Cinnamon patrol

Linguistics lesson

2010-03-31T17:58:00.000+01:00

A linguistics professor was lecturing to his class one day.

"In English," he said, "a double negative forms a positive. In some
languages though, such as Russian, a double negative is still a negative."

"However," he pointed out, "there is no language wherein a double positive can form a negative."

A Dublin voice from the back of the room piped up: "Yeah. Roigh."

YASP (Yet another snow-related post)

2010-01-09T13:08:00.006Z

Like the rest of Northern Europe, we've been hammered by arctic weather. But unlike the rest of northern Europe, we were totally unprepared for it.

This is because, depending on who you listen to, it's the worst winter in 10 years, 20 years, 30 years (says Seamus the postie on RTE1), 50 years or the worst ever.

We're running (or have run) out of salt for the roads, the pavements are a national shame, water mains are bursting hither and thither, and all that is before breakfast.

But I don't mind any of it because this is my first real Northern hemisphere winter. I get to see firsthand water going through it's phase changes in new and exciting ways; like de-icing the car with warm water only to have it refreeze 30 seconds later, and, why, just 15 minutes ago I was driving along when a roof ice-berg broke off and ran down the windscreen completely obscuring my vision - thrilling!

So here's to precipitation in all its forms! To boilers wherever they may be activated! To hot calvados & apple juice! To watching it snow from your desk! To losing feeling in one's face! To winter!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

2009-12-12T19:20:00.002Z

New apartment pics

2009-11-29T15:49:00.003Z

Here some some snaps of the new apartment.

Main bathroom and 2nd bedroom not included, as they are works in progress.

The rental agent's plumber failed to turn up for the final time yesterday, so we have sourced a new plumber ourselves. I'm hoping for good things.

As you can see, our couch is particularly generous. On the days when it's cold and rainy outside (i.e. all of them for the next 4 months), it is quite hard to leave it for work. Often I think of just sitting there and doing a Discovery marathon, punctuated only by the Angelus at 6pm on RTE1.

Nature abhors a vacuum

2009-11-25T19:57:00.005Z

Holy batman! This tired blog has been laying bare, strewn, left adrift, abandoned.

But we have not sat still. We have not been slothful or lazy. We could be reclining on our oversized couch, enjoying apertifs from our oversized coffee table and watching cable TV from either of two locations. But we're not. Every day, at dawn's crack we heave ourselves into the cold morning (well. one of us does - the other gets in the car and drives to work with the heat on) and give ourselves over to Dublin Bus. We toil away at our workplaces and watch the sun set over our afternoon tea. And then again - into the cold night - the unforgiving cold night.

When we do see the sun, it is from the warm bosom of Ikea and her inexpensive cafeteria. We must fortify ourselves with meatballs, gravad lax, almondy cake and €1 hot chocolates. We must live better through technology - even when that technology is kitchen drawer organisers that aren't designed for your kitchen drawers and have to be tortured into shape. And we lug flatpacks 10, nay 100 times our own weight like so many weary ants.

--

This weekend we promise to take photos of the new digs. Stay tuned.

Not lost in translation, unfortunately

2009-09-20T08:11:00.003+01:00

(How did I miss this for 5 days? Then discover it via Sideswipe in the NZ Herald?)

From http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/france/6190964/Passengers-panic-as-cabin-crew-plays-incorrect-message-saying-plane-to-ditch.html.

Aer Lingus cabin crew caused panic on a Dublin to Paris flight by accidentally playing a message in French which warned that the plane was about to make an emergency landing.

Panic-stricken passengers, of which the majority were French, spent several terrifying minutes convinced they were about to plunge into the sea only to discover staff had put on the wrong announcement.

Around 70 people were on board the A320 Airbus which took off from Dublin on its way to Paris' Charles de Gaulle airport.

Approximately 20 minutes after take-off, an announcement in English advised passengers that the plane was passing through an area of turbulence, and to return to their seats and fasten their seat belts.

It was directly followed by another announcement, this time in French.

Relaxed-looking English-speaking passengers smiled at their fellow French travellers and presumed they were listening to the same message.

However, this one received a very different response that could not be explained by cultural differences as the French began to scream, shake and cry.

One passenger told the Irish Examiner newspaper that a Frenchman who had been dozing next to him suddenly woke up and looked very startled.

"He translated what had been said to me. The message, he said, was that we should prepare for an emergency landing, note where the emergency exits were and await instructions from the captain. As there was turbulence as well I got quite alarmed.

"The woman behind me was crying. All the French freaked out," he added.

A few agonising minutes later, the cabin crew realised there was something wrong as passengers were wailing.

In fact, a steward had simply pressed the wrong pre-recorded message – warning the plane was about to make an emergency landing.

The aircraft was over the sea at the time and some passengers believed the plane was about to ditch.

"They then went back on the PA system and apologised for playing the wrong announcement in French," the passenger said.

An Aer Lingus spokeswoman confirmed that a pre-recorded message in French about the emergency landing had been accidentally pressed instead of the turbulence warning.

"We subsequently clarified this and apologised to our passengers. It is a very unusual occurrence," he said.

The mid-air drama happened on August 4 but was not reported in France until yesterday.

French nerves are still jangling following the still unexplained crash of an Airbus A330-200 belonging to Air France, the national carrier.

Flight 447 plunged into the ocean after taking off from Brazil for Paris, killing all 228 on board. It was the company's worst-ever disaster.

Investigators said last month they expected it would take at least 18 months year to reach conclusions about the causes of the crash, after submarines failed to detect the plane's two black boxes.

Luas down

2009-09-16T21:17:00.003+01:00

The red-line Luas got into a pretty nasty crash with the No 16 bus this afternoon in the middle of town.

The Luas is much loved in Dublin, and we wish him a speedy recovery.

--

Our thoughts are with those who were injured.

Rue Privée

2009-09-16T20:48:00.002+01:00

Rue Privée
Originally uploaded by djcult

Quietly. In the undergrowth of our summer château near Lamalou-les-Bains.

Baked Belgian booty - the mattentaart

2009-09-01T11:06:00.003+01:00

I was first introduced to this tasty pastry by some Belgian friends of ours.

A speciality of the East Flanders city of Geraardsbergen, the mattentaart (matten = "curd", taart = "tart") is a cheesecakey-like cake encased in puff pastry. The secret ingredient is the buttermilk used to prepare the fine dry curd for the cheesecake part. The puff pasty is light and crunchy, and the cake has a very light crumb, and a delicious tangy sourness.

Eagle-eyed Laura found this at a stall in Ghent and we enjoyed several of them.

The tart is so special, it has been granted the sought-after European Regional Product status, designating it as qualifying for the Product Designation of Origin - the first Flemish food product to receive the designation. This means it can only be called mattentaart if it was actually made in Geraardsbergen (or the city's neighbouring village of Lierde) and made using the traditional, ancient recipe - which dates back to 1510 - while also using milk from the region.

Smakelijk eten!

Letters from Lamalou

2009-08-25T21:21:00.006+01:00

After spending one day & one night tootling around La Cité (the medieval-walled-town-part) of Carcassonne , we rented our car for the drive to the chateau. The Opel Corsa with no hub caps was not the black Peugot 207 I was hoping for. Also, unfortunately, it's the same car we did our driving lessons and tests in, which bought back bad memories. Also, unfortunately is was diesel - actually it drove quite well and I was impressed - but it sounded like a pretty shit tractor. To ease into driving on the other side of the road, I thought I'd terrify Laura by driving perilously close to the right-hand side - especially when near parked cars, ditches, or - my personal favourite - sheer drop-offs. To make it more scenic, we GPSed a route that took us via Castres, up through the mountains and national park, and (by accident) the super-charming really-old-looking, no-cars-because-the-streets-are-too-narrow, stuck-up-in-hills-with bridges, funny-old-outdoor-squat-urinals-and-all Olargues.

The chateau was cool. It's more-or-less a 3 storey square building enclosing a courtyard with several attached barns and outhouses. And a pool (of course). The owners were competitive body builders and have build a very impressive 2-storey gym complete with protein supplements and all. As there is no gym in the area, it has turned into a good sideline for them. But because it's an historic property they aren't allowed to advertise, or put up any signs. The best they can do is put a sign some distance down the road saying "gym in 500 metres" but, and this is truly French, the sign can't give any indication of which direction it's in. The property extends quite a way in one aspect and includes an abandoned orangerie. If you walked through the orangerie, or along the no-longer-used railway line across the road, you come to the spa town of Lamalou-les-Bains.

To us, a "spa" is a place that girls go to sit around in bath robes while being up-sold ludicrously expensive beauty products. But the French spa towns are more like water-based outpatient clinics. After a few days in Lamalou you start to notice the preponderance of wheelchairs, crutches & bandages - in fact, in any given group of people, at least one person is likely to be looking fairly worse for the wear. So, in the nicest way, I think of Lamalou not of les Bains, but of les cripples - kind of like a leper colony with really nice boulangeries. Speaking of pastry, our initial efforts in the regard were a bit frustrated - if you're like us, if you're on holiday, by the time you sleep in, have breakfast & perform your ablutions lazily, it's around 1pm. That is indeed a shame, because in Lamalou (and I suspect most other small town in that area, if not the entire country) all the shops shut at 1pm to reopen at 4pm. Eventually we got it right, but on day #1 we were restricted to Lidl rations only.

Being, aside from the Ikea furniture, more or less an authentic country house, we had no aircon. During the day the temperature maxed out around 40°. The shutters were shuttered, and on the days when we didn't foolishly adventure up hills or down gorges (we did both of these at my insistence and Laura's forbearance), we siesta'ed in our room, feverish, languid, and happy. On the first night I left the shutters open, and it was pleasantly cool. On night #2 I did the same but we inadvertently outsmarted a bat's echolocation: Laura woke in a start claiming rustling noises and I poo-pooed it as a dream - but there was no mistaking the wriggly fist-sized parcel in our net curtain. I have to admit, and I'm not proud of this, that years of apartment living has rendered me a little soft when it comes to non-domestic animals. But the burden of protecting my wife sits heavily on my shoulders and I'm not one to back down (except when facing that one type of bear where you're supposed to back down). I found the best course of action was just to close the windows on top the curtains - thereby ensuring the bat remained outside - and allowing him the opportunity to free himself, should he wish to do so. In the morning I checked tentatively, and confirmed he had made his escape.

In fact, this is was not the only act of heroism on my part. On another day I found a lizard in the same net curtains. (I feel I need to give a bit of context here: we have been constantly & shamelessly harassed by small lizards in the past. In Fiji a lizard had taken to living behind the toilet cistern - at night he'd (they're always "he's") creep out, and you'd get up to use the loo and flick the lights on, and he'd race back in - and we, neither of us, dithered on that throne. Then in Goa, a different lizard (I assume) had taken to living behind the giant carved wooded headboard above our bed. Again the same thing - he'd creep out when it was dark or quiet - then any light or motion would see him to racing back in. It began to affect our ability to enjoy the headboard and we were forced to bring it to the attention of the staff. A group of them came in, first to remove the headboard, and then to deal with the lizard: after being exposed, he ran out of the room at a million miles with 3 or 4 men chasing him, and ultimately he succumbed to one of their shoes). With that in mind, I tried to loose the lizard from the curtain through vigorous shaking. When that failed, I tried to "bash" him off using Laura's magazine. It was successful, but along with the lizard, the magazine also exited in the window and ended up in the boules sandpit (from whence I was forced to retrieve it, a little shame-faced).

Then, on our last night, I got up to the use the loo... We had been talking to the owners about the local fauna - which had included scorpions - and I noticed a scorpion-shaped thing on the floor. It was small, and I prodded it with something and it didn't move, so I assumed it was the discarded exoskeleton of a scorpion. None the less I put an empty can over it, then spent the next 45 minutes wondering where the freshly decked-out scorpion could be (the sheets?) before falling asleep. In the morning I removed the can and lo! it was indeed a scorpion, and not just a shell. And this time it took off. I quickly replaced the can, and we put a bottle of shower gel on top of the can to weigh it down. Then we packed up, paid the bill, and left for La Grande Motte, warning the owners on the way out.

Languedoc rocks

2009-08-18T20:49:00.006+01:00

We're back from our summer holiday. Wow - it was amazing! It was great to really take our time to get to know an area of France - much more satisfying than the usual long weekend.

The fist image shows a map of the main places we went to (we didn't really go to Aix so much as drive through it on the way to airport, but anyway).

We spent most of our time in renovated chateau near the spa town of Lamalou-les-Bains. The second image shows the chateau with Lamalou in the back ground. You can see the vineyards all around. Our apartment in the chateau was really lovely - a great place to siesta during the hot part of the day.

More to come including photos & never-heard-before stories of animal wrangling and heroism.

Meanwhile I have 2 more days left at work, so I'd better find a new contract soon, or else, I'll be... well... relaxing at home and biking in the park. And we can't have that.

Sweep's family reunion - the miracle of YouTube

2009-08-05T21:26:00.001+01:00

49,000 people made redundant in Ireland in 2009 (so far)

2009-08-05T16:38:00.000+01:00

From http://www.independent.ie/breaking-news/national-news/49000-people-made-redundant-in-ireland-in-2009-1852322.html:

New figures from the Department of Enterprise Trade and Employment show that 49,009 people have been made redundant so far this year. Over 6,350 were laid off last month alone.

The rate of increase for the year to date is 142%.

Director of the Small Firms Association Patricia Callan says that urgent government action is now needed to stem the rise in job losses.

Key dates in the Irish Republic

2009-08-01T08:15:00.006+01:00

Every age has a keyhole to which its eye is pasted.
- Mary McCarthy

1916 - Nationalists stage Easter Rising, seizing the General Post Office in Dublin and proclaiming an independent Irish Republic.

1921 - Anglo-Irish Treaty establishes the Free State, an independent dominion of the British crown with full internal self-government rights, partitioned from Northern Ireland which remains part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

1937 - New elections. The voters return de Valera and also approve a new constitution which abolishes the Irish Free State and proclaims Eire (Gaelic for Ireland) as a sovereign, independent, democratic state.

1973 - Ireland joins the European Economic Community.

1998 - The Good Friday Agreement on a political settlement for Northern Ireland is approved by voters in referendums in the Republic of Ireland and in Northern Ireland.

2002 - Euro replaces the punt.

2009 - IKEA opens in Dublin. Some of the staff dressed up like Abba.

The citizens of Ireland are now free from furniture store oppression. There are rumous IKEA furniture comes in different colours and designs - not just the "cheap unpainted wood / I did it in high school" style so popular with all the other discount furniture stores.

Incident: rejected takeoff due to fish strike

2009-07-28T09:28:00.001+01:00

From http://www.avherald.com/h?article=41d56b1f&opt=0:

An Air Canada Jazz de Havilland Dash 8-100, flight QK-7710 from London,ON to Toronto Pearson,ON (Canada), impacted a fish during its takeoff roll and rejected takeoff. The airplane stopped safely.

NAV Canada reported besides the DH8A, that an osprey flying overhead the aerodrome had dropped a carp, which impacted the airplane. The FAA reported the airplane to be a DH8C (Dash 8-300).

The airplane departed a few minutes later and reached Toronto on schedule.

BBC TV Concorde special from 1989

2009-07-26T10:47:00.003+01:00

Really good - about 30 mins altogether. Watch a take-off from Heathrow and a landing at Washington Dulles. See an explanation of the cockpit controls from the pilot and flight engineer. Watch the instruments as they go supersopnic!

Really an amazing plane, a real it was retired.

Classic Richard Feynman lectures

2009-07-26T10:38:00.002+01:00

Classic 1964 Richard Feynman lecture series on Physics at Cornell

http://research.microsoft.com/apps/tools/tuva/#data=4|0||||

I just got given what I owe and blown it on a stereo

2009-07-21T10:05:00.001+01:00

Here we go.
I just got given what I owe
and blown it on a stereo,
can I have some more?
Crashed the car,
drinking at the candybars,
makes you sick inside your heart
and no one ever knows.

When the honey don't come
When the honey don't come
When the honey don't come
When the honey don't come
We're making beelines to heaven.

And angels are just all the same.
They wait until your in so much pain,
and then they call your name.
See I hate this show,
I just got into Rock & Roll
and I can't sleep at night.

When the honey don't come
When the honey don't come
When the honey don't come
When the honey don't come
We're making beelines to heaven.

It's not just food, it's M&S food

2009-07-19T14:29:00.004+01:00

In the absence of easily available (fairly) healthy takeaway options (like Burger Fuel and Renkon), it's no exaggeration to say we couldn't survive without M&S.

And you can tell people it's great, but they're like, it's a supermarket dude, who like cares like.

So for those poeple not blessed to live in an M&S-serviceable area, I photographed yesterday's shopping. So you can see, for yourselves, what we mean.

Oh, and yes, that pizza was really good.

Not 100% correct

2009-07-18T09:31:00.002+01:00

From here.

The text is amusing.

R.IP. Jacko.

Rip-off

2009-07-17T07:57:00.003+01:00

(Prices in NZ$)

Hmm... I got mine in Ireland for $20 on a 12-month $40/month plan.

Someone's making a killing on this.

Lisbon Treaty 2 - coming to your cinemas October 2

2009-07-12T16:34:00.005+01:00

Life in Ireland #oh I can't remember

2009-07-10T07:38:00.002+01:00

From http://www.independent.ie/national-news/man-fined-for-punching-a-punch-bag-1815656.html

Man fined for punching a punch bag

It was a tale of the punch-bag that hit back. A Monaghan man yesterday pleaded guilty to damaging a festival punch-bag machine that he was playing with, after it struck him a blow on the jaw.

Paul Kelly, of Lisanisk, Carrickmacross, was ordered by the judge at the local district court to pay €1,950 to the owners of the machine, which had been in use at a recent summer festival in the town centre.

The defence told the court that when his client punched the machine hard and thought he was entitled to a payout, the machine suddenly struck him a blow to the jaw.

The lawyer added that in a fit of anger at what happened, his client then hit out very strongly, causing damage to the mechanism of the machine.

Kelly was ordered to pay for the damage he had caused, prior to a further sitting of the court on October 28. If he pays up, the judge said he would dismiss the charge under the Probation Act.

- Patsy McArdle

The Perfect Pint

2009-07-05T19:33:00.000+01:00

Yet another qualification to add to Laura's credentials.

Oh, so, yeh

2009-07-01T09:06:00.003+01:00

To the one person that asked, no we aren't going to Malta!

For all my moaning, which was considerable, we have actually literally booked a summer holiday and all. We said "no" to the somewhat tempting heavily-discounted package holiday in Sorrento (amazing location, less-than-amazing accommodation) and "yes" to what I'll refer to, from now on, as "our chateau" (or an apartment therein) just outside of Lamilou-les-Bains in the Languedoc-Roussillon. It has a swimming pool, it has sprawling grounds, rivers, an old railway line, and even an orangerie. Yes, an orangerie. Bless them.

What is class is: car hire for 9 days was less that €300 (using Hertz through Ryanair.com) - how is that even possible?, we get to spend a day & night in Carcassone (that of the fairytale walled Cité) which is a destination in itself, and we fly out of Marseille-Provence airport, so we have a day or two to amuse ourselves along the Meditereanen coast, up in the hills, or in pretty cities and towns as we wish.

I'd like to take this opportunity to thank Ryanair for, and I've never said this before, flying into slightly obscure locations that make for perfect holidays (as opposed to long and boring coach trips into the city you actually wanted to see).

So, 6 weeks and counting...

Summer loving had me a blast

2009-06-27T19:10:00.007+01:00

Here's why planning a summer holiday in Europe sucks:

There are plenty of cheap package holidays and last minute deals, especially to certain areas of Spain and Portugal. And I'm sure some of them are nice. But have you ever seen those reality TV shows based at Luton where they all head off to Lar-na-kah and get sunburnt, then drunk, then have fist fights, then depraved sexual unions (usually also televised) before vomiting in the pool and calling it a night? And that's on day 1? Yeh, well, do you want to spend your holiday with them?
Once the cheap ones are ruled out (there goes 85%) you are left with the expensive ones. Although the whole world is in recession, no one seems to have told the European tourism industry. It is still fecking expensive. And 4* is a very misleading rating - it may get you a beautiful view of Vesuvius from a cave-like room accessed through a tunnel with twin beds featuring retro bedspreads - where retro means actually from the 70s and not in a cool way. If you can afford 5*, then, as the American's say, good for you, and even then you may be stuck 30kms from nowhere, in which you'll need to hire a car. Which brings me to...
You can of course think the unthinkable and ... not ... take... a ... package. There, I said it. In this case you can forget about booking a hotel directly because (1) either the rack rates are just insane or (2) you can get the exact same hotel on a package and it's always cheaper that way and (3) usually both. This brings you to self-catering accommodation. There are a couple of UK websites which put you in touch with the owners of France's lovingly renovated basement dungeons and piggeries and Spain's many many many many many many apartments...

- You find something perfect, but it's (a) far too expensive or (b) booked out or (c) usually both
- You find something perfect - and I mean jaw-droppingly beautiful and you get your own cheese cellar - but it's in the middle of nowhere and you'd need to rent a car and drive which is (a) annoying, (b) expensive and (c) generally not relaxing - especially at intersections or when you can't see other cars to remind you which is the correct side of the road.
- Everywhere in Spain a golf resort, and we couldn't care less about golf.
- Everywhere in Spain is apartment complexes - see problem (1) above.
- Everywhere in Portugal is apartment complexes - sorry if I'm repeating myself.
- Everywhere in Portugal looks like it was decorated by accident when a nearby tile factory exploded.
- Everywhere in Spain and Portugal has rapaciously extravagant bedspreads, that, in my opinion, are in poor taste.
- You find something perfect, but it doesn't have a pool, but there's a beach nearby, but it's a stony beach, and although it is possible to swim in it, you don't want to be that tourist, but there are great beaches nearby - only a short 10 minute drive (no car) or a relaxing 3 hour walk downhill (but that's on the way there).
- You find something perfect but the closest airport is uniquely positioned between two airports that Ryanair does fly to from Dublin. You could fly via Stanstead (annoying + more expensive), you could fly to the nearest airport and rent a car (no) or catch a train then a cable-car, make a short ferry crossing, then a taxi - and taxis are very cheap in Via del Tumour!
- Most places are just dead ugly (see previous comment about exploding tile factory)
- Out of desperation you try everyone's last option...
Malta.

Don`t supersize me

2009-06-26T10:03:00.001+01:00

From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-fructose_corn_syrup:

In a 2007 study, rats were fed a diet high in fat and HFCS and kept relatively sedentary for 16 weeks in an attempt to emulate the diet and lifestyle of many Americans. The rats were not forced to eat, but were able to eat as much as they wanted; they consumed a large amount of food, and the researcher, Dr. Tetri stated that there is evidence that fructose suppresses the sensation of fullness. Within four weeks, the rats showed early signs of fatty liver disease and type II diabetes.

Bare essentials of safety from Air New Zealand

2009-06-26T07:46:00.000+01:00

(Thanks Claire)

The Aviation Herald

2009-06-25T14:21:00.005+01:00

If you`re into aviation, there‘s no better site than The Aviation Herald.

They list any ... incidents ... as they happen and also post updates about previous ... incidents.

What`s surprising is just how many ... incidents ... happen every day. Don`t worry, in nearly all cases no one is hurt. But having said that, there were 16 things worthy of reportage yesterday including an exploding breast implant (ouch), a bird strike, and two planes who came closeish to flying into each other.

When economies go bad...

2009-06-25T08:01:00.007+01:00

More bemoaning the Irish economy, this time from a new report by the IMF.

From http://www.independent.ie/business/irish/long-painful-road-to-recovery-lies-ahead-1789196.html:

The IMF says: "The economy is in the midst of an unprecedented correction. The stress exceeds that being faced currently by any other advanced economy and matches episodes of the most severe economic distress in post-World War II history."

The report also warns that Ireland has become the most expensive place to do business in the eurozone.

Even if action is taken, there will be no early return to growth. "The correction of distortions induced by the nexus of property and financial developments will further pull down potential growth in the immediate future, before it rises back to a 2pc range by the close of the forecast period in 2014," it says.

Emphasis mine.

Dublin in NZ Herald

2009-06-16T20:56:00.002+01:00

A deluge of posts, I know.

From http://www.nzherald.co.nz/travel/news/article.cfm?c_id=7&objectid=10578079.

Dublin: Lucking in with the Irish

Gregor Paul takes a sip of Guinness and points out the top 10 must-see places when you visit Ireland's popular capital.

1 Visit the Guinness Brewery
Come on - you have to. Even if you are not super enamoured by the black stuff, even if you think it takes like alcoholic Vegemite, the brewery trip still offers plenty.
It is not as horribly corporate and tacky as it could be.
The building is modern, clever, stylish and, as with most things in Ireland, there is a charm about the hosts that helps to sell the whole experience.
And, if nothing else, the trip is worth it for the views from the top floor, where Guinness have thoughtfully built a bar.
2 Visit the Dublin Writers' Museum
Dublin has made a long and significant contribution to the literary world. The list of famous writers to come out of Dublin includes James Joyce, George Orwell, Samuel Beckett and Oscar Wilde.
The Writers' Museum in Parnell Square brings to life that celebrated past with intriguing personal insights. Little known facts, such as Wilde being a promising pugilist during his days at Trinity College, are revealed.
Other little nuggets inform us that Samuel Beckett, had he not turned out to be one of the most influential writers of the 20th century, would also have made a name for himself in cricket.
3 Watch Gaelic sports at Croke Park
The Irish have retained a healthy regard for their own Irishness, their own sense of identity. Which is why their own Irish sports continue to thrive.
Hurling and Gaelic football are the two biggest sports by far in Ireland and there is nothing better than going to the home of those games, Croke Park, and watching them played.
The 83,000 seat stadium is quite magnificent - it is where the All Blacks played Ireland last November.
It is also, of course, the site of the infamous November 21, 1920 Bloody Sunday massacre, in which British troops fired on the crowd during a football match. Fourteen people died in what was one of the most significant events of the Irish war of independence.
The emotion is intense and the experience is never to be forgotten.
4 Visit the O'Connell St Post Office.
What? A post office - what's the point in that? It's just one those things that has to be done. Everyone who goes to Dublin ends up going there. It's a landmark by which all Dubliners guide others.
The O'Connell St Post Office was also the main stronghold of the Irish Volunteers during the Easter Uprising in 1916.
5 Go hunting for U2
Unlike other European countries, the Irish don't have a punitive tax regime that encourages the rich and famous to head elsewhere. There are even incentives to encourage the rich and famous to stay (Ed: Wrong! U2 are famously headquatered in The Netherlands who offer better tax breaks to artists than Ireland).
No one in Ireland is richer or more famous than U2, and frontman Bono can be spotted in the suburb of ~~Dalkay~~ (Ed: Wrong, it's Dalkey). And if you don't find him, enjoy the cute village.
6 See where Posh and Becks got hitched
That's right, the world-famous David Beckham and Spice Girl Victoria were married in Luttrellstown Castle on the outskirts of Dublin in 1999.
The castle dates back to the 15th century and over the years has been owned by the great and good of Ireland, including the Guinness family. Now it is one of the best five-star golf resorts in Europe.
7 Stroll through the grounds of Trinity College
Dublin owes its fame as a literary city to Trinity College - recognised as one of the best and most creative tertiary institutions in Europe.
Not only is it full of smart people, it is in the heart of the city and the fabulous old buildings are flanked by ornate and tranquil grounds.
8 Play golf at the K Club
Scotland is recognised as the home of golf, but Ireland's reputation as a venue of some quality for this curious sport is growing fast. The K Club, on the outskirts of the city, hosted the Ryder Cup in 2006. It is a high quality golf course and if you are lucky, you might find yourself playing at the same time as some of the world's best professionals, who are known to sneak in and out.
9 Have a night out at Temple Bar
It is horribly cliched. It is the domain of stag and hen parties from across the continent, but Temple Bar, on the south bank of the River Liffey in the drinking heart of Dublin, has to be visited. It is loud, brash and not for the faint-hearted but, as long as you respect what you are in for, it can be fun.
10 Head down Grafton St
Grafton St is the beating heart of the capital. It is where you can shop, drink, eat and people-watch. The power of the Irish economy can be seen in action along this street.
~~The locals have ferocious spending power and there is something inspiring about watching a nation flex its muscle through the power of its consumers~~ (Ed: My god, how out of date is this?).

Sizes of Auckland vs. Dublin vs. London

2009-06-16T19:28:00.007+01:00

Earlier this month I compared Cornwall Park to Phoenix Park.

Now let's compare Dublin, Auckland & London in a really unscientific way:

- London is the aqua-coloured blob. I took the area that Google Maps called "London", so I assume this is the conurbation of 'Greater London' which doesn't include commuter cities like Surrey.

- Dublin is the brown/purple blob at at top-middle of the London blob. I've included the populated parts of the greater Dublin area.

- The green/yellow blob on running down the left of London is Auckland. This is probably the least accurate because Auckland is really spread out and in an awkward shape due to all the harbours. I've probably been a bit too generous with Auckland, including all populated areas in all directions - really the full extent of the greater Auckland conurbation.

So wow - Dublin is kind of small and Auckland is really spread out, even on the London scale.

Simple pleasures

2009-06-16T18:13:00.002+01:00

EMBED-Sleeping Dog Runs Into Wall - Watch more free videos

The best thing is you can play it over and over.

The Perfect Lunchbox

2009-06-14T20:04:00.003+01:00

It was a good weekend - it was hot! - unfortunately I had/ have a combo cold & hay fever thing that has proven quite unpleasant, but hey, it's not swine 'flu.

In a bid for healthy eating and money saving (we're in a recession don't you know) I've been concocting strange work lunches that scare my colleagues: tonight I made tofu & fried fish roll (don't knock it till you try it, they're muy rico) with yu hsiang (spicy garlic) sauce and splash of chili oil, with rice (rice cooker), and bean sprouts (a massive bag for 80 euro cents).

It's cooks in about 5 minutes and cost all of a few euro. It's full of protein and only trace amounts of fat. Yum.

we heart kerry

2009-06-13T09:44:00.006+01:00

I don't think anything in photography compares to seeing brand new medium-format slides on a light table. Especially when it's velvia and the colours are popping. And especially when you've used beautiful sharp optics and you can see amazing tiny detail under the loupe.

So it was yesterday when I picked up the two rolls I shot on our holiday with the Morrises. We saw Dublin (from the inside mostly), Cork, Kinsale, Kenmare, the two rings, Portmagee, Caherciveen, Gap of Dunloe, Killarney, Kilkenny and for the kids - Hell Pizza. Quite a ride - and we're still recovering.

I'm really pleased with the first two shots here: The first is of a stone fort in Caherciveen and the second is the Gap of Dunloe (which is a beautiful place). This is a different kind of photography. It's the wait-for-the-light-to-be nice, or just hope-it-is-because-im-impatient kind. There's not much composing or fusing. And it helps I only have the one lens on the Contax and it's a prime, so there's no zooming or lens changing.

a long night
scanning finally completed
i make breakfast

Excellent news

2009-06-12T10:17:00.002+01:00

Murphy's ice cream are coming to Dublin!

I have loads more to share for a change - knitting, my new qualification, and the world's best postcard. But that will have to wait until I also have some free time.

In the meantime, I recommend fantasising about the chocolate, and chocolate & whiskey ice cream.

NZ tops Global Peace Index

2009-06-02T21:46:00.002+01:00

Top 10 most peaceful nations

1. New Zealand
2. Denmark
2. Norway
4. Iceland
5. Austria
6. Sweden
7. Japan
8. Canada
9. Finland
9. Slovenia

Ireland is 12th.
Australia is 19th.
France is 30th.
UK is 35th (not great).
Taiwan 37th.
Argentina 66th.
China 74th.
U.S. of A 83rd.

Ten least peaceful
1. Iraq
2. Afghanistan
3. Somalia
4. Israel
5. Sudan
6. Democratic Republic of the Congo
7. Chad
8. Pakistan
9. Russia
10. Zimbabwe

Full list here. I'm a bit miffed about Austria. Is "peace by to ignoring history" really peace?

Phoenix Park vs. Cornwall Park

2009-06-01T15:53:00.003+01:00

Now that I've started biking around Phoenix Park I was curious to see how it compared size-wise to Cornwall Park in Auckland.

Here's my comparison. The reddish area is Cornwall Park (somewhat rotated so it fits in nicer) and the greenish area is Phoenix park.

Dublin can be Hell

2009-06-01T11:08:00.006+01:00

(Apologies for the crappy mobile phone, out of focus, and badly lit photos)

Sometimes bad things happen and it's not your fault even though you didn't give way 100% properly on the driving test ... and then you walk to the John Gunn on Camden St to process some film and you find that a popular NZ pizza chain has inexplicably opened up in Dublin. Yes. NZ pizza chain. Dublin. Go figure.

So it was a couple of weeks ago when I discovered Hell Pizza on Wexford St (it's really Camden St - or the "street with a thousand names").

Along with smoothies, bagels, sushi, gourmet burgers and all-over body waxing - the modern Pacific-rim trappings we took for granted are slowly migrating to Western Europe and it's hott.

Last Thursday, after Laura's haircut, we finally gave in. Wow - with Macs Gold (Speights too, but less excited) & kumara fries (it's pronounced koom-rah not koo-ma-rah) the pizza was somewhat incidental. The menu appears to be 100% exactly identical the same as back in NZ - right down to the breaded brie.

So if you're in the area, go to Hell, I think you'll like it.

--

And now I implore you Burger Fuel Inc - you're in Dubai for god's sake - come here too! We will patronise you! Oh yes we will patronise.

Aptly named North Korean town

2009-05-28T07:42:00.002+01:00

Kilju indeed :-(

Lisa Hannigan - Lille

2009-05-27T22:36:00.000+01:00

See http://www.lisahannigan.ie/.

Soba kisses & udon dreams

2009-05-25T20:45:00.001+01:00

We miss you Tokyo! 私たち日本の愛!

Auckland's BIG Little City

2009-05-25T18:54:00.000+01:00

Happy birthday M&S - we love you more than you will ever know

2009-05-24T21:34:00.002+01:00

Also - a good time to take out Euro

2009-05-20T21:12:00.004+01:00

The NZ/EUR cross rate is looking particularly good for NZ'ers. If you're planning a holiday to Europe, even if it's a way off, I'd buy some € now.

Warning – your investment may go up as well as down

2009-05-20T20:56:00.003+01:00

Thanks to David McWilliams' column for pointing me to a brilliant Irish blog on economics.

This guy blogs about the kind of stuff that I want to read. Actually the kind of stuff I would like to write. If you're at all interested in economics I strongly encourage you to read it.

And to tempt you further, here is a selection of things to read:

Five years, six property markets, mixed fortunes - what goes up must come down, especially in Detroit.
How many mortgage-holders (in Ireland) are faced with unemployment?
Is it cheaper to buy or rent (in Ireland)?
Are Irish workers undertaxed? - reveals a very interesting factoid that in 2007 an Irish family on the average industrial wage was effectively being "taxed" (paid, that is) at -0.2%. Yes that was a minus. Shit.

Great stuff Ronan!

Robinsons "Be Natural" Squash

2009-05-18T20:08:00.000+01:00

Nest

2009-05-17T14:12:00.003+01:00

We found a seagull nesting on the roof we overlook.

Eurovision 2009 Winner - Norway

2009-05-17T11:17:00.000+01:00

And a deserving win it was too.

Legendary Smack

2009-05-16T20:39:00.000+01:00

Now available at Tesco Ireland - every little helps.

Material reductionist façade shows cracks

2009-05-15T10:37:00.004+01:00

See Chemist Shows How RNA Can Be the Starting Point for Life.

The article reports that an English chemist, John D. Sutherland, has found a way to cause nucleotides (the building blocks of RNA, i.e. the building blocks of life) to form naturally, as they would have done on the primitive Earth - thwarting a problem has long tripped up scientists looking at the origins of life.

This was a 10-year effort and involved working methodically through every possible combination of starting chemicals - and it is reported that the winning combination was particularly counter-intuitive.

Dr Sutherland said:

"My assumption is that we are here on this planet as a fundamental consequence of organic chemistry. So it must be chemistry that wants to work." [italics added]

Oh my! Dr Sutherland! You shouldn't have! Are you saying there is some kind of creative principle at work in these mere ... chemicals?

"What separates me from most so-called atheists is a feeling of utter humility toward the unattainable secrets of the harmony of the cosmos."
- Albert Einstein to Joseph Lewis, Apr. 18, 1953

Please stop

2009-05-07T20:41:00.000+01:00

How do you know if you've got swine flu?

You come out in a rasher.

Man-aroma

2009-05-02T11:47:00.001+01:00

Thank goodness we're going to Paris next weekend! I've nearly run out of my man-aroma.

Exemplary

2009-05-01T17:18:00.000+01:00

From eBay:

Thanks for you choice our products , and pure-heartedness hope you give me
evaluate, extremely appreciation!

McDonald's Ireland Eurosaver - Love

2009-04-30T20:42:00.000+01:00

Love this ad. The Cork accent makes it something special.

Smithfield makes the NY Times

2009-04-29T19:46:00.002+01:00

As found by Laura @ http://travel.nytimes.com/2009/04/26/travel/26surfacing.html:

(They didn't mention the kids throwing stones and the other unsavoury types - and we'd kind of prefer the horse market found another venue, anyhoo...)

Changing Smithfield Still Holds On to Dublin-Style Fun

By DAVID FARLEY

Published: April 26, 2009

FOR the last couple of centuries, the two main reasons to visit Smithfield, a diminutive Dublin neighborhood centered around a spacious square northeast of the city center, were to buy a horse at the local equestrian market and to see the red brick distillery where Ireland’s best-known whiskey, Jameson, was made.

The horse market still takes place monthly (though there’s talk of finding a new location), but Jameson moved most of its operations south to County Cork in the 1960s. The neighborhood soon fell into neglect.

But thanks to an urban renewal plan that the city started in 2003, Smithfield has slowly been making a comeback. Each of the square’s 300,000 cobblestones was uprooted, cleaned, polished and put back. Tall, contemporary-looking lampposts bloomed on the circumference of the plus-size plaza, and industrial-chic apartment and retail buildings rose on the western side of the square.

“A lot of people thought Smithfield would be an alternative to Temple Bar,” said Michael T. Hough, a bartender at the shabby-chic Dice Bar (79 Queen Street; 353-1-633-3936), referring to the once-derelict, now pub-crammed central Dublin neighborhood that was transformed into a “cultural quarter” more than a decade ago. “But it hasn’t really got there yet.”

In fact, the recent economic downturn hasn’t been kind to the neighborhood, as a few local businesses have recently shuttered. But Smithfield still has plenty to offer.

The distillery, meanwhile, has been rebranded the Old Jameson Distillery (Bow Street; 353-807-2355; www.jamesonwhiskey.com; admission is 13.50 euros, about $18.20 at $1.35 to the euro) and turned into a museum dedicated to the making of whiskey. Hourlong tours are given in six languages.

The legendary Light House Cinema (Blackhall Walk, Smithfield Market; 353-1-879-7601; www.lighthousecinema.ie), one of the city’s few indie movie houses, closed down when it lost its center-of-town location in 1996, only to resurface last year in a sleekly designed, award-winning space (with a modish cafe open to anyone).

The Maldron Hotel (Smithfield Square; 353-1-485-0900; www.maldronhotels.com; doubles from 59 euros), part of an Irish-owned chain, opened up a Smithfield branch last fall. The chic property’s 92 rooms offer free high-speed Internet access, floor-to-ceiling glass windows, balconies and, in some rooms, great views of the square. Stir, the hotel’s retro-chic restaurant and bar, serves decent globally inspired dishes like cumin-infused chicken strips and Peking duck.

A better dining bet is Peppe (31 North Brunswick Street; 353-1-671-8216; www.pepperestaurant.ie), a southern-Italian-leaning eatery serving thick-crust pizzas (9.50 to 13.80 euros) and hearty pasta dishes (10.90 to 13.90 euros).

Cristophe’s Cafe (Duck Lane; 353-1-887-4417; www.christophescafe.com), by day a casual spot for salads and sandwiches (5 to 10 euros), in the evening turns into a candlelit French bistro offering classics like ribeye steak in a red wine sauce (25 euros) and veal stew in a cream sauce (19.50 euros).

Any visit to Smithfield isn’t complete without stopping by the Cobblestone (77 King Street North; 353-1-872-1799; www.cobblestonedublin.com). There’s been some sort of drinking den in this spot for 150 years, but for the last 15, this popular pub on the north end of the square has become famous for its (sometimes impromptu) Irish music sessions. Both young and old, Smithfield veterans and newcomers turn up for plenty of “craic” (Gaelic for “fun”) and a pint or two of the local brew (that would be Guinness, of course).

No matter how trendy Smithfield becomes, some things, hopefully, will never change.

Build an ipod (kind of) for €53.96

2009-04-29T19:22:00.006+01:00

With iPhones still expensive, and with the climate, and having broken my trusty Pocket PC (that's for another post) I think I've assembled the next best thing - and ipod kind of.

First take a Samsung Tocco from Vodafone. For the low-low price of €10.00 (on a €20.00 a month plan for 12 months), and even though the phone is a year old you get a lot: it's tiny, has a rad touch screen, it's 3G, and it comes with an optional leather flap that flaps over to protect the screen - no accesories required. I bought it online, they delivered it to my work the next day, and they switched my number across (yes, number portability!!!) the next day. All done.
An 8Gb microSD card from ebay for €14.01 including postage from the UK. 8Gb! 14 Euro! This takes me back to my first 20MB MFM hard drive...
A pair of Jabra BT3030 Bluetooth headphones for €29.95 (including postage) with "dogtag"-style remote for wireless musical listening. Unfortuantely they haven't been shipped yet. The "store" I bought from on eBay turns out to be one man, who "isn't home [and can't post them] until Thursday" - not impressed.

That's €53.96 or $NZ124.907 (at mid-market cross rates).

Ireland AM

2009-04-27T20:55:00.002+01:00

While I was having breakfast, Laura was improving her media profile by knitting on TV. Choice.

The Easter bunny was good to me

2009-04-26T18:30:00.002+01:00

The weather may be grim, and the food variable, but there are definite advantages to this northern hemisphere gig. For example, featured here is my M&S TopGear "The Stig" Easter egg - with 5 solid milk chocolate cars and a racing car soundchip.

Some say ... he melts if left at room temperature.

Yumm.

You can't stop me

2009-04-25T11:41:00.001+01:00

Treasure Trove

2009-04-25T11:22:00.002+01:00

Dublin presents a cold and rainy Saturday morning. Laura is fast asleep and left to my devices I found this - all the old NZ TV ads you could hope for. Including, yes, it's true, I found it, the Columbine Hosiery ad!

Life in Ireland: Escaped bull on the loose in supermarket

2009-04-24T09:56:00.008+01:00

From http://www.independent.ie/national-news/escaped-bull-on-the-loose-in-supermarket-1716755.html.

IT may not have been a china shop, but these dramatic CCTV pictures show what happened when an out-of-control young bull charged through a local supermarket.

Miraculously, no one was hurt when the animal escaped the clutches of its owner and ran into Cummins' Super-Valu in Ballinrobe, Co Mayo.

The bull had been at the local mart a few hundred yards away when it made its great escape. Shop owner John Cummins said: "The bull ran down one aisle, and into the store area, where he had a good look around and came back out again.

"He then charged down another aisle, and out the front door again. As the pictures show, there was a lot of people in the shop at the time, staff and customers.

"Amazingly, no one came directly in his path or it could have been very bad news. It was a happy ending to a story that could have gone very wrong.

"Some of the staff ran after him when he went into the store, but they got out of the way again when he turned around to come out -- and I wouldn't blame them."

By the time the bull was eventually recaptured by its owner, a local farmer, the only damage done was to fruit and vegetable stands.

"People were joking afterwards that our beef was fresh and fully traceable," said Mr Cummins. "He passed out Tesco to get to us. That tells its own story."

- Liam Horan

The Lost Islands

2009-04-20T20:12:00.001+01:00

Anyone remember this show?

It Could Be Sweet

2009-04-18T20:11:00.001+01:00

barely there

2009-04-16T20:02:00.004+01:00

barely there
Originally uploaded by djcult

Salmon Wier, Galway

Galway Bay

2009-04-16T20:01:00.002+01:00

Galway Bay
Originally uploaded by djcult

more photos because I know you like them even though I get no comments ever

2009-03-31T20:28:00.004+01:00

Frankfurt Weihnachtsmarkt

Jeu de Balle micro-essay

Dublin alt

Had a few rolls sitting on the shelf, so I got them processed and uploaded some albums.

The first is from last year's Frankfurt Christmas markets, the second from the flea (really!) market in Brussels and the third from my alternative wanderings in Dublin.

Peace.

coffee dublin coffee dublin coffee dublin

2009-03-29T16:19:00.005+01:00

Just to make the point to Google. This is a public service announcement after all.

If you're in Dublin you'll know that coffee is generally a burnt means to an unpleasant end, but I think this applies to the British Isles generally - and don't get me started on Belgium - which has no excuse. Did we tell you the story of how Laura ordered a chai latte at the Sainsburys-next-to-Ikea in Belfast? They young lady mixed a latte with chai syrup. Really ew.

Surely Aungier St is now the unrivalled coffee centre of Dublin. The Bald Barista has moved up the road to Avalon House. It's great big space which is kind of shared with the hostel there. They're definitely focusing on coffee - I'm not sure what's happening with the food - there is food, but it's unremarkable - but that's missing the point. There's heaps of tables, a few comfy chairs, wifi (possibly free) and no pretension whatsoever. If this were Vienna in the late 19th / early 20th C, then this is where the action would be. The coffee is strong and lovely. Is there any better place to spend a rather lackluster Sunday afternoon? I'll tell you sir, no.

The old Bald Barista /"Evolving with Darwin" premises is still serving great coffee and is headed up by new barista on the block. Mr Zhang I think. He has credentials - he's just a won latte art competition and he's good, evidenced by the fact the place was packed on this very same lackluster Sunday.

And across the road is "brioche". I had occasion to visit twice on two consecutive weekday mornings and I was impressed. For a measly 2 euro dollars you get a very friendly (suspiciously so for the hour) barista (she could be French, but she's not, but she could be) and a decent creamy and slightly caramelly latte which had no hint of burtness badness at all.

For the sake of completeness I need to mention "NOTO Caffé", on Thomas St not Aungier St, and midway between me and work (a great place to be). What to say about Noto... the staff are about as friendly as the people that beg for money next to ATMs. But you get the feeling they've been made to be this way due to long hours, or bad pay, or both. And if you engage them they will sometimes, begrudgingly, treat you as though they do want your custom, a bit, kind of. No idea where it comes from, but the coffee they use is good, really good. Strong, thick, and not burnt. But a lot depends on who your barista happens to be. There's a couple of lads there that are just excellent, and there's a couple of girls who are incredibly variable. I've received some pretty weird beverages from these girls - in one, the milk and coffee had kind of curdled into a pancake sized semi soft wedge - ew.

On a personal note, we bought little stove-top espresso (pictured) at a kitchen supplies shop in Brussels last weekend (we've been looking for a while) and I brought some of the Bald Barista's coffee ("Fixx") back to the homestead. This should be fun.

Vancouver in the nature

2009-03-20T20:55:00.003Z

Sorry for the blog spam. I'm catching up when I should be finishing my packing. I've had a really successful time scanning this evening - thanks to my new adapter, and some clean slides, the scans are sharp and everything is a pleasure.

Please see this set of photos of Vancouver; in the snow and in the park. You should use the slideshow so the pictures as a big as possible.

Okay, packing now. 6.50am flight tomorrow :-(.

We're cool, we do flash mobs

2009-03-20T20:09:00.001Z

Paddy's day jig outside the Central Bank.

Joy

2009-03-20T19:25:00.000Z

The joy of a slide well scanned!

Finally, good taste prevails

2009-03-19T14:53:00.003Z

The company that makes some of the world's ugliest shoes is in trouble.

I don't care what you say, Crocs are ugly. Furthermore, they can be dangerous (all those people getting them stuck in escalators and having gruesome accidents), and they are no substitute for proper Birkenstocks for chefs/doctors/nurses, in part because they don't have the same footbed design.

Ugly, and hopefully not produced for much longer.

Thanks, recession. Now, can you get onto the Uggs please?

NZ national anthem sheet music

2009-03-16T19:12:00.003Z

A lot of people have been asking me for this. I tire of the constant bothering so I used my connections to procure this.

Happy St. Patrick's day!

2009-03-16T18:44:00.003Z

Remember: there are only two kinds of people in the world: the Irish (for the record, that's me), and those who wish they were (that's ye).

NZNTM

2009-03-13T19:16:00.003Z

I'm a big fan of the Next Top Model franchise and, always wanting to stay in touch with the mother country, I was excited to see bits of the first episode of New Zealand's Next Top Model on You Tube.

It's way too early to pass comment, but it was entertaining ,and Brittany's down-home kiwi accent was laugh-out-loud good.

Ryanair really farcical - this time I mean it - I was wrong about the other times

2009-03-11T09:23:00.005Z

Anyone familiar with Ryanair knows they are infamous for their "extra" charges and alternative revenue streams - as far as I can tell they are the most budget of any budget airline anywhere on the planet. But, their argument goes, this is all in aid of keeping their air fares low low low.

Generally I don't have a problem with them. What they do makes sense: they want to operate as cost-effectively as possible & there are lots of things in the modern aviation industry that are unnecessary, time-consuming and $$$. Ryanair would rather you took carry-on only: makes sense - checked in luggage necessitates a whole raft of expensive equipment and procedures and slows down plane turnaround time. Ryanair would rather you checked in online: makes sense, saves the need for check-in desks, staff, printers...

But with Ryanair it's a very slippery slope, no a greasy slope. Last week they had the idea (actually really) to charge people for using the toilets - and then to fine them if they soiled the plane. No firm plans have been made and I strongly suspect it's just a shock tactic to make their real plans seem more reasonable, but still!

Also, they're planning to abolish check-in desks entirely and to have web check-in only. Seems okay so far. If you have to check-in in person, they'll charge you €20 - okay so that penalising the elderly and others without access to computers, but so be it (if you're elderly I really hope you have the option of not flying Ryanair).

Then today I read this article. To summarise, Ryanair now plan to charge you €5 to check-in online, by which I mean, they plan to charge you for logging into their website, completing the check-in process yourself and printing out your own boarding slip. In their defense a spokesperson said:

"We are providing them with the facility to check in online. Websites don't
build themselves you know."

Oh ho ho. I love this. This is great. Imagine it for any other business in any other industry anywhere: so that'll be €3.50 for your latte plus a 50c fee for you to add your sugar and stir it yourself, sure that "condiment area" didn't build itself you know ... so that's €50 for your gas and €2 for filling the car up yourself, sure these petrol pump gadgets with the hoses and such like don't grow on trees! Farcical, absurd, ridiculous.

And yes I'll still fly them because they are still the cheapest. And I guess that's the problem.

Rainbow cake deliciousness

2009-03-10T09:16:00.004Z

Ever wanted a rainbow cake? Check this baby out!

(Kudos to Mariko for this excellent link, and for making her own version!)

Now, if (like David) you aspire to eat super-healthily, and turn your nose up at packaged cake mixes and soft drinks and stuff, you will be grossed out by this.

However, if you like pretty colours in your food, and/or have a deep love for rainbow things (guilty on both charges), you will be able to overcome any aversion to artificial ingredients (and snobbery when it comes to people using a mix when making a cake is stupidly simple) because this cake is both pretty and rainbow-y.

Since I'm determined to make this one day soon, I'm taking submissions on what I could use (as in: available in Ireland) to replace that whipped topping stuff.

Economy bad but we found a great waffle place

2009-03-09T07:52:00.002Z

See: Ireland and Italy least competitive of EU states.

The 2009 European Growth and Jobs Indicator due to be published today shows Ireland has slipped from fourth to 13th place in a single year. It notes that economic growth, productivity and the public finances have all “deteriorated precipitously”, driving the country’s overall score downwards below every EU country surveyed, bar Italy.

Just more bad news, but it gives you an idea of what's going on here.

On the positive side, there are lots of indicators where I'd like to be next to Italy: The 2009 Espresso Quality Indicator, The 2009 Neopolitan Pizza Deliciousness Indicator and The 2009 Cities like Florence because Florence is so cool Indicator to name a few. On the negative side, Dublin wouldn't rate too highly on these indexes either.

But we're always top of the Craic Indicator, so who cares.

Knitting, at long last!

2009-03-05T15:21:00.008Z

It's been ages since I've posted, and even longer still since there's been any knitting content!

To remedy that, here are a few of my more recent FOs:

Debbie Bliss cabled jacket
My cabled jacket is, in fact, a cardigan. It's lovely and warm, which is ideal for the chilly Irish climate. I used Bendigo Woollen Mills' 12-ply Rustic, which gives great stitch definition, and stands up well to cabling.

Unfortunately, the metal buttons I chose were too heavy, and I've yet to find good plastic replacements, so for now it's buttonless, done up with a kilt pin instead. Ravellers, the details are here.

Mulberry Bush capelet for Emma
One of my best models, Emma, received this lovely (even if I do say so myself) capelet as an early 3rd birthday treat when we visited her in NZ. Breaking away from the machine-washable yarns she's used to, I treated Emma to a merino/cashmere mix, with mother-of-pearl buttons. After all, she's a young lady now! Ravelry details here.

Emilie's first birthday dress
My other beautiful model, Emilie, received an "Angel dress" in a 4-ply mercerised cotton for her first birthday. She was too busy opening presents to really model it for us, but you get the general idea. (Ravelry link here.)

Up next? A gazillion baby garments for the gazillions of babies due (I love them all individually, but seriously, there are a LOT of babies expected by the people in my life!), and Mum's belated Xmas present, which she knows is dark purple and contains cashmere, but is otherwise a mystery...

Best parameter name. Ever.

2009-03-04T09:18:00.001Z

public void SetGaugePosition(int value, bool useWobbling)

Lesson learnt

2009-03-03T08:04:00.001Z

Never, ever, take portraits with Velvia.

Adventures in scanning

2009-02-28T23:43:00.006Z

Through a glass darkley
Originally uploaded by djcult

As I think I mentioned, I bought a medium format camera on holiday and since we've been back I have a scanner too.

Scanning, I've discovered, is a major pain in the backside and if there is one reason to have a digital camera, it's to avoid scanning.

Anyhoo, after buying a special new film holder for the scanner to hold the film flat (film flatness, not easy) and spending a good 2 hours tonight adjusting little screws in increments of 0.2mm (no kidding), I can now can get sharp images!

The next major problem is color correction. I don't have my own printer (and can't really be bothered with one) but my lab (not being a pro lab) doesn't have a colour profile for their printer - so I've got nothing to calibrate against. That's probably as well, because if I did I'd need to get a colorimeter to calibrate my screen. That's just more stuff - eventually Laura will kill me, or I'll have no desk left, or both. So I did some test prints today, and I'm going to go for the "hold it up to the screen and compare" kind of colour correction.

So here are some of the scans I've done: 2 x Vancouver and 1 x Grandmas. You might have seen them on my regular albums already, but that was before they were sharp.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/djcultdjcult/3255129323/ (sharpish)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/djcultdjcult/3317718996/ (actually sharp)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/djcultdjcult/3314961026/ (still not sharp, needs redoing).

Schlaf schön!

Polyglot?

2009-02-27T08:57:00.001Z

I said it in Hebrew—I said it in Dutch—
I said it in German and Greek:
But I wholly forgot (and it vexes me much)
That English is what you speak!

-Lewis Carroll, The Hunting of the Snark

Gmail is dead. Long live gmail!

2009-02-24T11:37:00.002Z

I've got a case of the cold sweats.

The email service went offline at around 10.25am GMT, and the outage appears to have affected users throughout the UK as well as across Europe, and even as far afield as Australia and India.
It appears that only web-based Gmail access is affected, and users can continue to send and receive messages using other devices, such as mobile phones and third-party mail clients.
Google could not confirm what had caused the outage. “A number of users are having difficulty accessing Gmail,” said the company in a statement. “We are working to resolve the problem. We know how important Gmail is to users, so we take issues like this very seriously, and we apologise for the inconvenience.
From: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/scienceandtechnology/technology/google/4797727/Googles-Gmail-service-crashes-across-world.html

Life in Ireland, well Dublin really.

2009-02-19T22:09:00.002Z

I've been meaning to blog about the Irish economy; specifically the banking sector. But I found this, and it's nearly as funny. And I mean no exaggeration when I say it reminds me very much of several of my walks to work.

Loving me tender

2009-02-18T11:28:00.002Z

Before I begin, I'd like to be clear: this isn't a post about Valentine's Day or love or smooshy stuff, nor is it about my love of chicken tenders. These are certainly blogworthy topics in my mind, but what I'm actually here to post about is meeting Elvis in the pub last night.

Yes, Elvis. And it isn't the first time I've met Elvis in a pub in Dublin, either. But I digress...

So in response to a slightly lacklustre feeling (associated, no doubt, with a return to relative normality after all the excitement of the world's longest family-visit-trip), David suggested yesterday that we go to Ryan's, a local pub, for "a sneaky pint". I'm not sure why it was sneaky, but it was an appealing idea.

So after leaving work early (5pm! I could see the road without headlights!), we convened at Ryan's with our pint each of Guinness. Ryan's - or, the bit I saw - is vastly superior to our other locals - the Cobblestones (which is unrenovated to the point of yuck, doesn't seem to believe in central heating, and is apparently so dirty that Irish men prefer a bottle of beer as opposed to a pint), and Thomas Reid's (wherein a pint cannot be poured properly, which bodes very ill indeed). Cosy, not fussy, and with a fair few regulars, but in such a way that you still feel comfortable popping in as a not-regular.

We were sitting quietly at our table when David looked up and his eyes widened. I smelled him before I saw him - Elvis, unwashed, and clearly worse for the wear after who knows how many pints. And whilst he had no costume, and spoke in a thick Irish accent, I knew immediately who he fancied himself to be, thanks to a spectacular pair of sideburns.

During the next 5-10 minutes, Elvis made allegations concerning Nicholas Cage's relationship with his daughter, explained the technique that led to his sexual prowess, and speculated on the likelihood of David (ahem) getting lucky that night.

I didn't have the heart (or the breath, I was laughing too hard) to tell Elvis that Lisa Marie had moved on, married someone else, and had twins with him.

Eventually one of the guys behind the bar told Elvis to go away, but my snickering continued long after he moved (his really rather smelly self) along.

As far as Elvises in Dublin pubs go, this one was much lewder than the chap I'd encountered in the Swiss Cottage one evening, who had a reasonable singing voice, and the sense to sing a few songs before hitting on me.

So, Elvis. Not dead, but living it up occasionally at my local pub. Who'd've thought?

US Airways 1549 ATC

2009-02-06T10:56:00.001Z

Here's the air traffic control audio for the flight that landed in the Hudson river.

Worldwide 08 - some photos

2009-02-05T17:27:00.005Z

I've been home all week with illness. Kind of an extension on the already long holiday, but it just prolongs the anti-climax of going back to work, so it feels kind of odd - a kind of purgatory. At least it's been nice sitting in the apartment, watching Discovery and the snow falling outside - so much snow!

On holiday I bought a 2nd hand (well, of course) Contax 645 which is a medium format film camera. I also bought a scanner so I could scan the negs myself. So, as well as other photos, I've uploaded some of the scans. It's a bit disappointing because although the negs are pin sharp, the scans aren't and that's mostly because the negative strip won't stay flat in the film holder. Kind of annoying. But as a first try I'm moderately happy.

Look out for a joint food diary style posting with photos. It might be a couple of weeks due the post-holiday chores backlog.

Slideshow here.

It's a white out!

2009-02-03T16:09:00.001Z

We're back!

2009-02-02T14:46:00.003Z

We and our 7 bags have made it safely back to Dublin. (Somehow, we managed to acquire more than we offloaded.)

We really got back just in the nick of time - today, the UK airports are closed due to snow, and David's nasty case of flu has settled in.

There may be a wee bit more radio silence as we unpack, do laundry, work (me) and recuperate (David). But we'll be back soon.

We're still out there

2009-01-27T01:05:00.001Z

We have been to Tokyo, Auckland, Whitianga, Gosford and Sydney and we have seen everyone and done everything (including eating everything). We're now in Vancouver and, unfortunately for Laura, she's working.

I, on the other hand, am sightseeing and taking photographs with the medium-format camera I picked up in Auckland.

I'm using the pretty awful "internet on the TV" thing which makes typing very painful, so I won't go on suffice to say we're expecting 5-10 cm of snow tonight and tomorow and the accompanying 60-90 kmh winds. Roll on sunny Dublin - less than a week now.

Roof terrace panorama

2008-12-23T16:24:00.006Z

Funny how you don't think of something until the last minute. I just released (a) I could take movies with my camera and (b) I could post them online and share them with you.

First see the easterly aspect of our roof terrace view including Christchurch, other churches, the xmas Ferris wheel, the Four Courts and the Jameson whiskey tower amongst other things.

And the westerly aspect. About 9 seconds in you can see the Guinness brewery at St. James' gate. The Dublin "mountains" are in the background.

My apologies for the video quality. It's my first time and I don't have a lot of time.

I call it: Shamrock shaped puff balls

2008-12-23T11:40:00.005Z

Tomorrow we leave this emerald isle with its cold Christmasyness and its enmistyments for another island: sparkling in the sun and bathed in the warm frigid waters of the South Pacific.

This island, the island of Ireland, with it's 32 counties, 4 provinces, and 504 local council regions, 2 motor tax offices, its castles, churches, public houses, tuna & sweetcorn sandwich filling, incredible density of convenience food stores, stout, all brand new cars and dirty buses, all not-quite-snowing and nice-try-but-no-attempts-at-Continental-style-Christmas markets and all dark nearly all the time, has housed us, nay sheltered us, nay protected us! from fate's weary blows but now launches us into the sky and carries us away... but all the time dropping little shamrock shaped puff balls as we go so,

....we can find our way back (by following the puff balls).

Festive foods

2008-12-23T11:04:00.004Z

We're headed off on our trip tomorrow, but I couldn't let the chance to discuss Christmas food go by.

I love Christmas food. Turkey, cranberry sauce, stuffing, loads of cake and pudding... Yum! My parents never have a dry turkey; the stuffing is vegetarian & plentiful; the cake and pudding have more than enough booze, plus boozy sauce to add on top.

But there's more to Christmas food, if you're in the right hemisphere. Mulled wine, gingerbread, and lots of Christmas cookies (strawberries and salads are lovely, but they don't have quite the same festive kick).

Which brings me to the Very Good Taste Christmas Fifty (the ones I've eaten are emboldened - which ones have you had?)

1. Crystallised or candied fruits
2. Egg nog
3. Bûche de Noël, or Yule log
4. Rum balls
5. Bebinca
6. Roasted chestnuts
7. Cavallucci
8. Tourtière
9. Uszka
10. Port & Stilton
11. Hallaca
12. Roast goose
13. Lefse
14. Sugar plums
15. Romeritos
16. Pinnekjøtt
17. Hot toddy
18. Christmas cake
19. Tamales
20. Sorpotel
21. Panettone
22. Candy canes
23. Pasteles
24. Speculaas
25. Makowiec
26. Christmas pudding
27. Stollen
28. Figgy pudding
29. Lebkuchen
30. Turrón
31. Mince pies
32. Wassail bowls
33. Buñuelos
34. Pio Quinto
35. Marzipan fruits
36. Mulled wine
37. King cake
38. Christmas beach barbecue
39. Cola de mono
40. Lutefisk
41. Kutia
42. Pizzelle
43. Dominostein
44. Cranberry sauce
45. Pfeffernüsse
46. Satsumas or clementines
47. Pumpkin pie
48. Smalahove
49. Nut roast
50. Brandy butter

Note that while sushi is not a traditional Christmas food, David and I think it will serve us very well this year. (Provided I get my hands on some turkey and stuffing once we arrive in Auckland, of course!)

And with that, I (we) wish you all a very happy festive season. I expect/hope we'll be too busy relaxing to blog throughout January, but we'll definitely return with enough incriminating experiences to make you shudder in February.

Pound sinks to record low against the Euro (kind of)

2008-12-22T16:41:00.003Z

From http://uk.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUKTRE4BL1WO20081222:

LONDON (Reuters) - Irish airline Aer Lingus pledged to make a small profit
in 2008 and 2009 as it set out its defence against the 750 million euros (£708
billion) takeover bid from Ryanair.

Hang on, it's not quite _that_ bad.

Holy crap

2008-12-18T20:20:00.000Z

Live rates at 2008.12.18 20:20:12 UTC
1.00 EUR	=	0.950703 GBP
Euro		United Kingdom Pounds
1 EUR = 0.950703 GBP		1 GBP = 1.05185 EUR

Kiwiana

2008-12-12T21:44:00.001Z

Only snow can make this workable...

2008-12-12T12:13:00.000Z

Give Up Yer Auld Sins

2008-12-11T20:45:00.003Z

I'm a little late to this but discovered it on breakfast TV this morning (who would have thought I'd learn something useful on the otherwise forlorn Ireland AM).

Basically the story went that back in the 60s a school teacher in Dublin (Ms Cunningham) had these bible stories and she had the kiddies read them out and and she taped them. Somehow the tapes fell into the hands of a radio guy and he made them into a CD which did very well. Then Brown Bag Films (which is not 100m from here in Smithfield) made an animated short movie for it which was screened all over the place and nominated for an Oscar. I think they're now available on a DVD for xmas, I think. Anyhoo, so I you.tubed it and they're fantastic. I love them! The accents & the stories themselves, deadly!

... and more on YouTube.

The national emergency continues

2008-12-10T11:49:00.003Z

I know you're all very concerned about Ireland's sudden pork shortage, so I thought I'd give you an update on my last post.

Only 10% of the country's pork is affected. But once the pigs get to the processing plant and are processed, they are no longer tracked or traceable. So even though only 10% of the pigs are affected, there's no way to know what meats these poor piggies were made into.

(Poor b/c of the yuckiness they ate, not b/c they died to make delicious bacon or sausages.)

So all Irish pork is a no-go. Including organic Irish pork, which the authorities know is not affected b/c they don't use that kind of feed.

The latter seems extraordinarily unfair to me - organic farming is expensive enough already, and with the big R-word on (that's a RECESSION), it's possible that people will buy even fewer organic products b/c they cost a bit more, so the organic pork farmers are worse off already. Stopping them sell their products when we know they're safe - and there's a suddenly (if temporarily) expanded market for them is just mean.

Or over-protection of the non-organic pig farmers. Either way, I think it stinks like a... a pig slaughterhouse.

So no pork. Still. One of my colleagues has a brother who works in a sausage factory. Apparently he's spending a lot of time in the pub at the moment.

However, we can be grateful (well the brother certainly can, it sounds like a fine way to spend a few days) - there was a concern that cows may have been affected also - which would mean beef and all dairy products could have been contaminated. But it's ok, they're fine.

Thank goodness. Ireland without sausages, rashers, beef, milk (for the endless cups of tea) and cheese (ah the ubiquitous cheese, which apparently goes with everything) - now that's unlivable.

Which reminds me, I must share my chives-and-berries experience someday soon...