27Degrees

Code on Welfare

2005-12-09T04:05:00.000-09:00

Most European country's have a fairly good weflare system (Ireland included), where you get enough to live.

The cost to develope software (by yourself) is your time & the cost of the computer (if you dont already have one).

So (theoreticaly) you could go on welfare & use your free time (your unemployed now) to develope software.

Which you could sell later or use to get you a job (impress them with your code).

So if your European (& have a good welfare system) why dont you try it?

Dam phone company!!!

2005-12-05T03:08:00.000-09:00

Why can't anything in this country be done quickly. I'm trying to get broadband, we have a telephone line into our house but it's inactive. Tried to sign up with SmartTelecome, a few weeks after I applied I called them to see what's up.

They "rejected" the application because the address I gave them was different to what Eircom had (Eircom was our previous telephone company). I went & got an old telephone bill & gave them the address, which was exactly the same as what I gave them before.

So they told me it would be 10 day's from then.

WHY 10 DAYS!!! And if I didn't call them how long would they have waited before telling me it wasn't coming?

Job worries

2005-12-01T02:52:00.000-09:00

Oh man, gotta look for a job, what if I can't find one.
What if I graduate & then become a bum?

(Anyone can get a job, the trouble is getting a job I like)

Getting in the way

2005-11-29T07:36:00.000-09:00

Hate having distractions from programming but it can'tbe helped. I have to start studying for the xmass exams & start applying for jobs.

I applied to the fas overseas graduate program, who get you placement in foreign companys (China for me) but I havent heard back from them.

Anyone fancy offering a talented, bright, motivated & soon to be desperate hacker a job (outside Ireland)?

CRUD's ready!

2005-11-29T07:33:00.000-09:00

I have been just sooo busy lately, working on my final year project I hit a major milestone today. CRUD (a web application server written in Ruby) is now usable.

It's going to make building my webappliation soo quick & simple, still need to iron out a few things but ive already started trying to get some of my classmates to use it.

I recon it's around 5-20 times faster to build with than tomcat.

Being early

2005-11-24T05:58:00.000-09:00

Two big projects were due in by today. One a distributed program & another a 2 & 1/2 thousand word essay. The funny thing is i got them both in earlier this week. I don't normaly don't do this but it really has it benefits.

For example the calm feeling as I watch 1/2 my classmates scramble to print out their projects around the same time. Only to find problem after problem (no ink, no paper, mysteriously not working).

I think I'll try this "early" thing more often.

Going deaf

2005-11-23T02:37:00.000-09:00

I appear to be losing my hearing in my right ear. Listening to my iPod the sound on the right is MUCH lower than on the left, and I'm having trouble understanding what people are saying.

If the price is right

2005-11-03T02:37:00.000-09:00

Well it didn't work, I sold a total or 4 sandwiches, 3 before the concert & 1 after. We (my wife & I) have abandoned the direct to market selling of sandwiches.

And looking over what happend I have to ask myself why didn't it work?
Was it the product?

On this one I don't think so, the sandwiches looked good & had a much higher level of quality than what's in the shops.

Was it the place?

Again no, there was a hotdog stand there selling hotdogs & burgers for 5Euro. Many of the people coming out were pretty hungry.

I think there were 2 problems, one was the fact that I was selling them from a basket, people didn't seem to like that very much (actually they did, many of them laughed). And the other thing was the price.

We were charging 2Euro for the large & 1.50 for the regular sizes, which is great value compared to 3.50 or 4Euro in the shops.

But that's the problem, Ireland is a high costs economy & everyone expects things to be exspensive. If not then they don't buy it.

Let me rephrase that, Irish people WANT things to be more expensive, which is why everything is, in a high cost economy price(lower) is not a competitive advantage.

note1) Not all Irish people, only those who are financially secure; the other kind just make they're own sandwiches.

note2) We had high margins on those sandwiches & all our stuff was bought from Tesco's, just imagine the margines on those sandwiches in the shops.

Not a shop but does it matter?

2005-11-02T05:03:00.000-09:00

What's wrong with people? I don't have a stall, I don't have a shop but people can see the product is good & at a really good price.

While standing there this morning most people stared at me as they walked by, I myself have never seen someone do what I was doing. It's the norm in countrys like China or in say NewYork (I think).

Skipped the lunch hour, and will try selling outside a concert tonight to see how that goes. Here's hoping.

My second try

2005-11-02T01:49:00.000-09:00

Ok so me and my wife are running out of money, we've got about 150 Euro left with no income.
Thats bad, so we have 2 choices.
1) We can try our best to make the money last, but it will eventually run out.
or
2) We can take a long shot & try to start up a small business that will keep us going until I finish college.

We chose 2, and for the business were making sandwiches. We make about 26 a day & I go around the city centre at luch time with them in a basket selling them.

Best case scenario is we sell them all & get 45Euro a day (before costs), but we do hope we can grow it.

Yesterday was the first day, I fell of my bike on the way into town & lost more than 1/2 the sandwiches. Then I managed to sell about 11. With that & the money some people gave me because they felt sorry for me I had enough to just cover costs.

This morning I sold 2.

I got scammed

2005-11-02T01:25:00.000-09:00

Yes, I did.
To the tune of 3000 Euro, which I didnt have.

Here's how it worked.
They send you a cheque for x amount, but worth a lot more than what your selling.
Ask you to cash it & send the rest (after deducting your amount for what your selling)
to a "shipper".

I put the cheque in my account, waited 5 working days (which is how long it's supposed to take for an Irish cheque to clear) and the money was in my account, ok I thought it's legit.

So I sent the rest on, and 3 weeks later my bank manager called me to say the cheque was a fake & he was going to charge the amount to my account (again, 3000 euros).

Well Im trying to fight this,taking it to the Financial services ombusman. My defence being that its the banks mistake & they should pay for it. That they shouldnt cash cheques until they know theyre legit.

There is a slight chance this will work, otherwise I'm getting a loan to pay back the bank.
So before you sell anything on the net google for scams & the website name to see what the scammers are up to.

It's too late for me but not for you.

What wrong with easy?

2005-10-25T05:51:00.000-08:00

Why is it that so many computer company's make such lame stuff? How long has the printer (for computers) been around, almost as long as the home computer (pc).

Yet still, after over 20 years they (the printer companys) cant build a printer thats simple to use & just works!

Is that such a hard thing? I mean I hate using printers too, they're such a pain. Even more when they run out of ink. You have 2 choices, fork over a premium for a new cartrige or get your hand dirty with a re-fill, and you really do get your hands dirty.

Here is a great idea to make money, build a nice looking printer. That just works. And doesnt cost a kidney everytime you run out of ink.

Is it an age thing?

2005-10-25T05:46:00.000-08:00

My A.I lecturer asked me yesterday to give him a hand getting iTunes to work with his iPod. This guys pretty smart, A.I's a fairly difficult field & he seems pretty good. But he just couldn't understand the whole iTunes thing, it was too easy for him to use.

He kepl asking about the song folders & file locations & things like that. He was totaly unable to grasp the concept of views, or playlists.

And I'm wondering is it an age thing or something else (nature v nurture)?

He's in his late 30's early 40's.

Sold!

2005-10-25T05:41:00.000-08:00

I sold my electric bike a couple of weeks ago, 350 big ones. But it seems the guy was just using me to help him launder money.

He paid me in full for the bike but never came to collect it, and I havent heard from him since.
So I notified him that I'm holding it until December 1st then getting rid of it.

Long story short looks like I'll be giving this electric bike away (for free) if anyone wants it.

Check it out.

Back from China

2005-10-04T05:32:00.000-08:00

Well, Im back and most things are good. It's great being with my wife & son again even if I never get more than 3 straight hours sleep.

China was hot & big, I hate traveling, I hate flying, it's so uncomfortable & bags are such a pain, my mothers bags were soo overweight, it cost her EUR400.
And there was a problem with my wifes tickets, the travel agent cheated her, we lost some of her baggage weight because of it & had to leave one bag behind.

They also lost one of our bags coming from Amsterdam but got it to us a few days later,un-harmed & un-opened. Realy have to say the KLM people (air hostess) were great, they got a better seat for my wife & son(with a basket) and were just so helpfull & nice throughout the entire flight.
I would definatly recommend them again, I just never want to travel with so many bags again.

Nerver ever will I travel with my mother again, she was like a little kid, couldnt control herself & was no help at all!

The terminal

2005-09-15T02:39:00.000-08:00

I'm at the airport boarding gate, quite early & just waiting to board, stupid eircom charging for wifi, dam them.

Well I'm tired (didn't sleep) & I have to say I have never seen my bathroom looking so clean, & it doesn't smell like bad eggs!

I'm looking foreward to the long haul flight as I'm likely to crash out, which should speed the trip up. Well I guess thats it, I dont think I can write until I get back, China's blocked off access to blogs (as far as I know).

On being ok

2005-09-03T14:08:00.000-08:00

When I read this it makes me think that I'm doing ok, & makes me feel like a selfish looser for being so self obsessed.

Too many people scare me

2005-09-02T16:32:00.000-08:00

I seem to have developed a debilitating fear of groups of people (larger than 4 or 5), I've always had this problem but thought that I had overcome it. I spent 3 years just trying to get over this and now it's starting to come back.

Tonight at that wedding, even though I ran into the groom & he asked me in I didn't want to. I started to sweat & got a headache. I did go in but after a minute I couldn't take it.

I just felt that I was somewhere that I wasn't wanted. And most of these people I've know for years some I grew up with!

What the hell is my problem? even when I'm in a group of people I feel like an outsider, even in my own family! There have been a few exceptions to this, and I can't explain why this happened.

Wedding Crasher

2005-09-02T16:15:00.000-08:00

I went to a wedding today, well actually no I didn't "go". I just turned up at the reception (I would have been there for the wedding itself if I wasn't babysitting my niece & nephew for the day), hoping to miss the food.
They were still eating when I arrived so feeling really out of place (& not being invited or a wedding crasher) I waited outside.

The person getting married was a girl I knew since I was 8, we never really talked (I have no idea about her personality, I always assumed she didn't have one, she has yet to prove to me otherwise). We were even in the same Sunday school class. She came to my wedding & reception. I see this girl every Sunday at church & have for nearly all of the last 12 years. I even knew the groom (although not as well, but he seemed like a nice enough guy). But no invitiation.

I said hello to a few & congradulations (but not to the girl, I can't speak to her, I don't know how) and left.

But here's the thing, her brother also got married a short while ago (actually a few months after I got hitched) and I didn't get an invitation to that either. Again this is a person who I have known since I was 8 and went to Sunday school with, and I actually did talk with this guy. At the time I didn't care, I was just married & far to busy with other things.

I'm wondering if it's just me (my imagination) or if it's something that I do or have done that people don't want me at their wedding. I guess it's nothing terrible but it's a bit sad (from my point of view).

Bad feeling

2005-09-02T14:27:00.000-08:00

For the last few day's I've been getting the feeling my wife might leave me. She's mentioned that she feels sometimes she's given up more than a working woman would have, and when I talk to her she sounds so very annoyed with our son (which is very understandable, since he's 10 months old & has more energy that the Duracel bunny).

For the last few nights before I fall asleep I keep thinking about this. I keep getting the thought I will wake up & she'll be gone, leaving a letter saying she just couldn't take being a mother, that she's sorry she left & to take care of our son.

I know this is just my imagination, it hasn't actually happened but I keep getting the feeling it will. Pretty terrible.

I guess just because it's so close to us being together again that I might just be acting up, getting anctious.

It's Over!.... It's Over!!!

2005-08-31T13:30:00.000-08:00

I have finally finished my work experience.
I swear never, ever to work in an office unless my family will starve if I don't. I can't believe that's how a "real" company works.

I mean how do they make any profit at all?

Scripture Study

2005-08-28T07:55:00.000-08:00

I have never been very good at studying the scriptures, when I read usually it's like reading a history book. I never notice the symbolism or anything deep. I can say I have read the book of Mormon through from front to back but I gained very little.

But last night something was different, I decided I would study the scriptures. Reading over it again & again, thinking about what it means & here's the important part. Praying.

I read about Lehi's vision (Nephi1, verse 8), with the tree of life, the iron rod & the spacious building. I have read this before many times & I've heard the story countless times (even seen the cartoon). But last night I prayed, I studied it & I read over it again & again. And in it I have found things I never saw, & to top it all off the spirit was with me as I read.

And as I read I pictured myself with my wife & son at the foot of the tree of life, eating the fruit. I find it difficult to imagine anything I want more in my life than this.

Chocolate Friday

2005-08-26T10:26:00.000-08:00

My mother has a friend in Caburys chocolate factory, the makers of the worlds nicest chocolate. Anyway with us (me & my mother)going to China she got a lot of chocolate, I mean a LOT. An entire suit case full!

That's just for China, she got extra for us as well so with my new supply of sweets I'm going to tell you about what I've been eating today.

Breakfast- Cheese sandwiches & Chocolate
Lunch- Chocolate
Snack after lunch- Chocolate & cheese sandwiches
Cycling home- mmmmmm....... Chocolate
When I get home - Chocolate

I feel sick.

What went wrong (Part4)

2005-08-20T12:16:00.000-08:00

I tried to do this on my own, sure my wife helped but only when I
asked, & I didn't value her opinion enough to listen to her. If any I
should have listened to her more.

If I had involved her from the start, as a business partner instead of
a source of free labor when needed it might have worked, if I had
done that I'm sure we would have tried something different.

It's not about what you think will work, it's about what ACTUALLY does
work, which means that sometimes (or all the time in my case) your
wrong.

What went wrong (Part3)

2005-08-19T09:41:00.000-08:00

An obvious failure was the market research & marketing, as in I did
none of one and very little, very badly of the other.

I was convinced that people would buy what I was selling, simply
because that was all I knew how to do, & they had better otherwise I
was screwed. My mind was already made up what was being done, &
nothing except having no customers (which is what happened) would stop
me.

Instead of selling people what I want to sell I should give them what
they want, easier said than done but that's a mistake I wont repeat.

And then the marketing, who was I targeting? where was I trying to
sell? I was looking for it in all the wrong places. No no traditional
marketing is for traditional businesses & business models. And even
then it's becoming less effective & more expensive. I did flayers,
giving them out on the street & putting them in peoples door's. It was
spam, physical spam & no one wanted it or read it.

The hughetrain & Cluetrain manifesto has something to say on how it
might be done in this age.

What went wrong (Part2)

2005-08-19T09:20:00.000-08:00

Automation, I didn't automate anything.

Everything was done by hand from creating a new website(for a
customer) to even answering email & transation processing. There were
o many tools I could have used, that I eventually learned of AFTER my
venture failed.

Even though I was studying programming & had done a whole year of it
my ability's & skills were so feeble that I couldn't put them to use.
I was competing in a technical market without any REAL technical
skills, all I had was some really terrible HTML knowlege.

What went wrong (Part1)

2005-08-19T09:13:00.000-08:00

So you've read what happened, and now lets look back to see where I
made (thats me not my wife) the stupid mistakes (my wife didnt make
any mistakes,
she's perfect).

I guess I'll start with the product, the package website. At the time
this had probably been done already, especially with blogging
services. So how did mine compare? In terms of style it it was pretty
terrible, here's an analogy.

Just because a person knows good music when he hears it doesn't mean
they know how to make good music.
And the same applies to good design/style, jsut because you know good
design/style doesnt mean you can create it.

I have great taste in music (IMHO), and I know good design & style
when I see it, but that doesn't make me a musician or designer.

So next time I'm making a website/service whatever I WILL HIRE A DESIGNER.

And was it easy for people to buy? No, it really wasn't. People had to
email me (so everything was done to my time not theirs), they had to
post me a cheque for payment. The whole transaction would take over a
week for each & every ingle case, thats not business on demand!

And all that for 30EUR, which takes me to another point, I was
competing with free here (blogger), and what I did was NOT better than
what was available elsewhere.

Failed Business, Loose ends

2005-08-17T11:49:00.000-08:00

I need to mention a few things I missed.

One of my friend's did some "market research" for me, giving him a questionnaire for people to fill out. He never actually did the survey, he told me people were interested. Good enough for me.

Being new to computers(remember I was a freshman) I knew nothing about blogs, wiki's or any other web authoring tool.

I didn't know how to sell globaly, defeating the purpose of the internet.

I didn't know how to get paid, on my website I was asking customers to write me a cheque.

Even number Sneezing

2005-08-17T05:50:00.000-08:00

It has been brought to my attention that any time I sneez it's always in even numbers, with 2 times being the most common, followed by 4, and 6.
Thank's Jonas for that life changing observation, now I won't be able to sneez without counting how many, if it's an odd number I'll thinl something's wrong.

Christopher Walking NOT running for President

2005-08-16T08:39:00.000-08:00

Turns out that it's not actually true (according to this post )
It was a rumor, ha I got duped.

Problems writing to my blog

2005-08-16T08:34:00.000-08:00

Something on my work network has changed thats preventing me from
uploading picture's, posting to my blog, and probably some other
stuff.

So for now Ive managed to set it up so I can make posts from email.
That's also why theyre not lookingvery nice either.

Christopher Walken for President 2008 !

2005-08-16T07:24:00.000-08:00

Wow, it actually true, Christopher Walken (the actor) is running for
president (in the U.S.), this is the guy who's been in Pulp Fiction,
The Deer Hunter & others.

http://www.walken2008.com

wow is all I've got to say, just wow.

Failed Busines Part 5

2005-08-16T07:13:00.000-08:00

So we've got the product(package websites), and we've let the world know about it(2 days spent giving out flyer's) and all we had to do was wait for customers.

Well we sure did wait, we waited a whole 3 days without a single call or email (actually I waited, my wife had better things to do).

I guessed that I would need to have at least 4 customers per week for this to be work,
and with half the week through & no takers I gave up.
My (recent) dream of working for myself came to an end & I went looking for a job.

I did eventually get one query, about a month later, but he never came back :-(

Failed Busines Part 4

2005-08-16T07:11:00.000-08:00

Me and my wife donned our custom made t-shirts and set off, carrying a
bag of flyer's.
First we went to Grafton Street (a main shopping street in the city
center) and found at that time there were only French fan's walking
around before the rugby match, definitely not our customers.
So we then went on down to Mary Street/Henry Street and started giving
out flyer's.
It was a heart breaking experience, no one wanted them, and the few
who did accept one usually threw it away.

2-3 hours later we gave up & went home, I don't know how anyone else
ever manages to do that for a living but giving out flyer's is really
soul killing when it doesn't work.

With my ego & confidence beaten from the previous day we set out for
Rathmines, a wealthy residential area & delivered the flyer's into
people's homes.

Harder work than giving them out on the street but much easier on the
ego, I think we only did 2 very VERY long streets before we went home.

We printed roughly around 6000 flyer's, my guess was we managed to
give away or deliver about 2000, not great but not too bad.

Then we waited (it was a Saturday & Sunday that we did our advertising spree).

Failed Busines Part 3

2005-08-16T07:00:00.000-08:00

I needed to let people know that I was open for business, so who were
my customers?
Guessed just anyone without a website, I thought that by pricing
myself so low (30EUR remember) that I would find someone.
A granny, a schoolkid, some very small business whatever I didn't
care. I was targeting anyone & everyone.

I decided to make some flyer's & just hand them out to people, in the
city center, why not I thought.
My motto being (not officially but in practice) "cheaper than the
cheapest cheap, cheaper, still not cheap enough!", which looking back
turned out to be a good idea, I think one of the only things that I
did right.

We found a copy store where we had our flyer's made (actually it was
an A4 sheet, with 6 flyer's printed on it, we cut them up later) I
think that cost us about 30EUR or there abouts.
So we just needed to hand them out.

Before we did that though me & my wife made t-shirts to wear while we
were doing it, the total cost of our marketing effort being less than
EUR50 not bad (that's right, it wasn't bad it was terrible).

Next we let the world know about our product.

Failed Busines Part 2

2005-08-16T06:49:00.000-08:00

So I had my idea, now all I needed was to go & do it.
I went down to the company registration office and started Iron Guard Limited,
actually it was about a month of filling out paperwork to get it
registered but we (me & my wife, but mostly me) got it done.

Then the summer came & I got to work on my website (I got a hosting
service for 100EUR per year with the name web-pulse.net).
Wanting to keep in the mood of having a job I got up at 8.30 and put
on a shirt & tie,
then I sat at my PC (in my living room) from 9-5pm writing all the
HTML by hand.
At the time I didn't like the tools available (Mozilla writer,Scream
etc, remember I was using Linux) so I wrote all of it by hand with a
text editor.
For about 30 pages (about 5 pages for the site itself & then 25 templates).
I spent the whole week on the site, along with creating graphics using
the gimp (a free graphics tool).

Now you must remember I wasn't a graphics designer or a good web
designer either, and my only business experience was asking people if
they wanted fries with that?

So the quality of what I had done ,was questionable but as far as I
was concerned it was great.
I was feeling pretty good with myself, I wasn't sure if I could make
myself actually do any work at home and by the end of the week I had
the website finished.

Next came the business part, when I would tell the world about my idea

Failed Busines Part 1

2005-08-16T06:46:00.000-08:00

It was coming to the end of my first year in college (I study I.T.)
and I was just after learning how to write in HTML. At the time I
really really didn't want to work for anyone,
because the only experience I had was in fast food places (like
McDonnalds, Burger King & an seeminly endless line of chip shops).
I was, understandably sick of working with food but there was my
problem, anyjob (non food) I applied gave me the same answer "well
your only experience was with (fast) food, so I think you had better
stick to that".

I was getting desperate, newly married (12th of May previous) and
needed a job, true my wife had work & we were living with my dad so we
didn't pay rent but I needed work.

So here was the dilema, I needed work, but the only choices were with
fast food, which I didn't want to do. And I had the answer, work for
my self, with computers!
It was so simple, such a great idea it was perfect, all I had to do
was think of something I could do with computers.
And after just learning how to write HTML I guessed I'd do that.

My HTML skill's were'nt great so I couldn't charge a lot, and who
would want's a cheap website?

The package website!, a website for anyone, for just 30 Euro I would
create their own website from a choice of templates & designes, and
find them afree place to host it.

Great, I had an idea so all I had to do now was execute or so I thought.

My failed business

2005-08-16T06:43:00.000-08:00

Over the next few post's I'm going to talk about my first attempt at
starting a business, that failed, very quickly.
I'll explain what I did, & then talk about what I did wrong, and what
I learned (I hope).

I shall call him...... mini me

2005-08-15T05:35:00.000-08:00

It has come to my attention that there is a conspiracy to take over
mainland Europe using clones of me, one has been spotted in Germany,
pictures & a video of him dancing it's clear to see that he is a badly
done clone or my father was very "fruitful" when in Europe. Because
not only is the one in Germany reports
of a half German half French clone of me living in Paris (if I
remember correctly, I might not as I was up all last night working on
my final report).

So there are 2 known clones of me running around Europe,& causing havoc no doubt.

Taking out the trash

2005-08-11T03:00:00.000-08:00

Here is a picture of 2 weeks of rubbish, as you may guess my diet is not varied.
Consisting mainly of Tesco noodles, milk & Tesco Wheetabix, mmmm.

I was clearing out everything this morning because it's bin day; got all the rubbish & then forgot to take it out.

The plan

2005-08-06T07:01:00.000-08:00

When my wife comes back from China (with my son :-D ) I am going to have a real hard time of working, studying & being a father/husband. All of these are full time jobs and there are not enough hours in the day.
A typical student job (which is the most likely that I would get) takes up too much time & really doesn't pay enough.

So I (with my wife, don't want to make that mistake again) must think of a ingenious way to bring in enough to live without costing me in time.

So I'm thinking of starting small, importing some little things like jewelry from China & selling them at markets or something like that.

It's crazy but it just might work, and if it doesn't so what! We didn't invest our life savings into it.
One of the advantages of a small family business.

Small family business V The Corporation

2005-08-06T06:16:00.000-08:00

Seth has a new post about small is the new big (and a follow up) , how small companies are able to change faster than large ones, and how they can give a personalized service that big ones just can't.

This all makes sense to me, but I've been thinking about taking it one step further, how about small family companies? Think about it, the people involved you know them, hopefully you trust them.
They know who they are working for, and usually what they have to do.

Italy's economy is almost entirely based on the small family business (with the exception of stated started company's such as fiat, most of which are in trouble), when you think of an Italian family business you think of the mama, the papa, & the son working for his inheritance.
These people know the customers names, they know the people in the community.

The family business is a conversation, is it the new old way to go?

A new kind of dating website

2005-08-06T05:55:00.000-08:00

I've been getting very excited by tags lately, in how they have been changing the way a lot of websites used to work. Here's how it's being applied to dating.

Ever use a dating website? Where you search a database of people, based on age, location or even whether they have a picture. In the real world dating or finding a date doesn't really work like that.

However now there is a fantastic dating site totally based on tags, consumating.com
Ever wanted to date a librarian, looneytoons, or someone with glasses?

It's not that this is a great dating site (which it is) but the fact that it uses tags, tags are how we actually think in & that's what makes this site so interesting.

ps. I contacted someone from the site & it's written in Perl with MySQL as a backend, relying a lot on JavaScript for the magic(AJAX).

This is part of the new web, and I'm very excited!
(Thanks fo the pic Antje)

A name form my program

2005-08-05T06:17:00.000-08:00

tinaw
Tinaw's Is Not A Wiki

or

This Is Not A Wiki

Thank's Paul for the idea.

How to burn your home down

2005-08-05T05:38:00.000-08:00

I stayed up all Wedensday night programming, well at least until 3:30am.
after that I thought, if I go to sleep now I'm not going wake up in time, so
I did what any tired disorientated guy would do. I wateched Pulp Fiction & did sound recordings.

Then arrived in work 1 hour early I can't remember what I actually did, but I'm sure I was busy.

Then cycled home, nearly got hit by motorbike when workmate called me.
Got home, had noodles, put some oven chips in the oven, and went in to watch tv.
I then clised my eyes for just a minute

Nearly 2 hours later I woke up to a loud banging (friends at the door),
talked with them for about 5 minutes. Then went upstairs wondering why it was so smokey.

I forgot about the cooker!!!

All that came out was a tray of little black smelly things hours over cooked.

Stupid sleepy me.

Selling my electric bike

2005-08-05T05:22:00.000-08:00

I've decided to sell my electric bike.

When I got it I thought that it wouldn't need insurance because it was a bicycle. After using it for 2 months & being stopped by the police at least twice every day (none of them actually knew if it was legal or not) I found the legislation for it.

This was a European Directive stating that anything not a pedalec was a motor vehicle.
A pedalec is something that only HELPS you cycle.

So I had an electric moped with pedals(which were useless unless you ran out of battery).
With tax & insurance being here what it is here(crazy) I couldn't afford to use it.

And what's really anoying it cost me over EUR1350 to get it, the moped cost EUR250 new, then shipping about EUR1000, then import duty of over EUR 150.

I wanted to import & sell them, they would have been a huge hit if it wasn't for the insurance, all the 16 & 17 year old's on my street wanted to buy it from me, thinking back I should have sold it to them.

So it's been sitting in my hall for a good year & 1/2 getting dusty.

And now I'm selling it, for Euro 350.
You will need tax & insurance, it qualifies as a 10cc motor, takes 8 hours to charge(fully) & takes you 30km on one full charge.
Top speed is 30kmh

Apart from insurance its dam cheap to run.

If your interested contact me mccarthyjames [at] gmail [dot]com

(the bike is actually blue, with slight differences from the picture, very slight)

Citizens Required

2005-08-03T23:41:00.000-08:00

Having citizenship problems? Getting anoyed with the current establishment?
Or have you ever wanted to become part of the birth of a new nation.

Well now's your chance, visit here. Citizens Required

Name the Program!

2005-08-02T07:53:00.000-08:00

I've been trying to think of a good name for my final year project & I can't come up with any.
I'd love a cool quirky memorable little name to suit my application, something related to what it actually does, but the thing is, I don't know if there's a name for what it does, I'm not even sure what it's exactly supposed to do.

I was thinking of ProjectY4, it being the project for my class(Y4)
Or perhaps something from Star Trek, to do with the Borg collective?
Or some combination of names from any of these cartoon's, TV programs, or films.

Transformers
Dino-Riders
ThunderCats
Ulyses31
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Mask
Akira
Ghost in the Shell
Lost in Translation
Spirited Away
Spriggan
GTO
Star Trek (any of them)
Star Wars (any of them)
StarShip Troopers

Any idea's are welcome, ANY.

Project update

2005-08-02T03:31:00.000-08:00

Only 3 days have passed since I started & I've gotten so much done.

Here's the basic structure so far.

Basic web server & servlet loader(very basic) from the control part
Basic file tools from the model, a regular file & a file with version history (for text)

Next is a rollback feature for the file version history and then get to work on the view

For more about Model, View Control see here.

I still can't think of a name for it though, any suggestions are appreciated.

Started coding

2005-08-01T05:31:00.000-08:00

I've finally started coding for the project, it turns out I'm building a web application server to build my app on top of.

Being totally based on Model View Controller design, I've already got a VERY simple controller working using WEBrick's servlets & I've started on the model(not bad for 2 days work).

The models going to have 3 components, a document version control part, a simple document part & a tagging part.
Everything will be written in Ruby, except the tagging (uses MySQL) which isn't needed.

I want this framework to be even easier to use than Rail's, although I don't think it's going to be as popular or as flexible.

The evil snooze button

2005-07-31T04:27:00.000-08:00

God, being the kind of guy that he is went & invented time.

Man, being man found a way to keep it (with clocks).

Satan went & ruined the whole show with the snooze button.

Little sister hits me

2005-07-30T10:32:00.000-08:00

So my little sister is back from London for a few days, and she's going back tomorrow. Were up in my mothers house talking, and I'm standing there all relaxed
(big mistake) with my hands in my pockets. I cant remember what my sis was talking about before she started saying how she learned to punch, doesn't matter.
Anyway I'm standing there & she's like "my boyfriend taught me how to punch", at this point she starts doing air punches.
I'm still standing in front of her, totally at ease, you know; the way you get when your with a FAMILY MEMBER YOUR TRUST.
And she's all like " one two, one two", then what does she do?

Out of the blue, a great big punch to that soft spot below where your ribs meet, you know that place where your supposed to hit if your trying to kill someone.

This was not some random attack, oh no this was cleverly, evilly devised move. I see now the chat, the air punches, the being my little sister for the last
18 years was just a cover to get me to drop my guard for that one moment.

She says it was an accident, ya I can see "oh sorry there, didn't mean to do my no escape, ultimate killer death move on ya", oh yeah that's believable.

And she then tries to justify it.

Sis: you gotta be ready for anything in this city, you have to expect this kinda stuff out there on the streets, it's a bad world ya know.

She's got a point, I should expect that kinda thing ON THE STREETS, & I do, that's why I don't walk too close to drunks, junkies, & yobs. So they cant
get close enough to me to pull that kinda move.

But it must be a REALLY fuckin tough world out there when I have to "expect the unexpected" when I'm in the comfort of my family's home surrounded by
family members. What's next? Muggings from my niece & nephew? Knee cappings from my wife?

No lets drop the crap here, the real reason you (sister) pulled that punch on me was to see if hitting the most vulnerable spot on my upper body
(excluding my neck) would do anything. You wanted to see if that move your boyfriend taught you would work? And you wanted to find out on
someone you knew wouldn't retaliate(your big brother, i.e ME).

Well now you know it works, you know that if you pull it on some one else it'll drop them worse than a kick to the balls could, leaving them short or
breadth & wondering WHY THE FUCK YOU DID THAT!!!

Not cool sis, not cool.

Cisco Harasses Security Researcher

2005-07-29T13:23:00.000-08:00

Here's Schneier's blog post about how cisco have been harasing the security reseacher.

TheCollective (final year project)

2005-07-29T09:01:00.000-08:00

My final year of college is coming up & I have to build a piece of software (over the year). I want to make something useful & directly related to my "research".

So here's my idea:
name:TheCollective (or better)
features:

A wiki where the user can personalize their view
A collaborative text editor, web based (like SubEthaEdit)
Web based chat, similar to an IM(Instant Messenger)

Bonus Features (no commitment):

Calendar/Scheduler
ToDo List
Project Management
SVG diagram drawing tool (similar to PowerPoint)
Chemical formulae tool
Mathematical formulae tool
Simple calculator

The purpose is to allow students to create coarse notes but to also be able to use other students notes. It will also allow students to co-operate/co-ordinate with others in their group, getting them to overcome the size, complexity & locational problems of such a group.

This should encourage the entire group to develope a collective intelligence, reducing the individual workload while improving average performance.

The application will be web based, so that all that's needed is a simple web browser & and internet connection.

I'm going to be writing it in ruby, using code from Rails, Instiki, Soks & ideas from MediaWiki.
Plan to use tagging but I don't know how I'll implement it, I want to try to avoid using any external packages including databases. But if I have to then it's going to be PostgreSQL.

I want people, students especially to be able to work on any project together without problems with location, time or even computing facilities. So that large or even massive groups can, together create something really useful.

Current Status on learning research

2005-07-29T08:19:00.000-08:00

I've been doing a lot of research (secondary) into alternative stuctures & methods for learning, trying to find one with the best overall results.

And the area's or topics that I have come across continue to widen, and all of them being a fundamentally different method to traditional educational methods (teacher/student).

Starting with peer learning, with wiki's, blogs, collective learning, collective intelligence,original collective intelligence, & now most recently collaborative learning.

One of the most common themes going across all methods are the lack of authority, the lack of hierarchy. And the limits of hierarchy.

The observation of ant's, which have no hierarchy or authority's still manage highly organized & complex society's/entity's (nests/hives/colonies).

And that one of the possible solutions is to remove the hierarchy in education.

Film Review: Creep

2005-07-29T05:14:00.000-08:00

Creep is a horror film based in the London underground, I saw the trailers for this & it looked really really good, & starting off it had the
perfect atmosphere with real potential. Unfortunately the film turns into one giant movie cliche.

Here's how it goes:
Girl falls asleep on platform in London underground (subway), gets locked in. Ok that seems reasonable. Then starts getting chased by some unknown,
unseen psycho killer, also fine. However here's where it gets crap.

The killer, who obviously has been living down there for a LONG time, without going on a killing spree, avoiding train drivers & security suddenly starts
killing everyone in sight. Starting out with dead bodies being found to people being pulled into the dark screaming.
Basically he kills EVERYONE EXCEPT the girl, why? Just to freak her out? Who knows.

Anyway as the film progresses you find out the character looks like a Jewish death camp victim barely capable of walking let alone pulling people up into vents ,by the head, with one hand & butchering them!

So this girl & a guy are then trapped in a cage, they get out, she sticks a stiletto heel in his (creeps)eye, now picture your self in this situation.

There's a person your after incapacitating, who happens to be a killer, now while he's on the floor in pain you have the choice of:
A)staying & finishing the job so he can't come after you or
B) run away so he can kill you later at his leisure.
Guess which one is picked.

And to wrap it all up, the girl, who has barely been able to run away at this point manages then to kill the guy, yes, the guy who overpowered EVERYONE else.
From security guards to breaking into trains & killing their driver's is finally killed by the girl.

This film had potential, the London underground is a freaky kinda place, it had the atmosphere, & they could have make this film completely terrorizing had they only made it realistic. People would shit themselves the next time they use the subway.

Sadly this is not the case, your left with a feeling of "the writer's should be shot, in the back of the head, twice".

Film Festival Summary

2005-07-28T15:45:00.000-08:00

Here are my reviews of the films I have seen, in my order of preference.
A Moment to Remember
This Charming Girl
The Housemaid
Aimless Bullet
The Coachman
Spider Forest
Hypnotised
So Cute

As you may have guessed I completely love A Moment to Remember & really liked This Charming Girl. I don't really hate So Cute it's just no a real film.

Anyway this is what I have learned about Koreans, & Korean society from this experience.

1)All Korean guy's are semi psycho hard asses who are just as likely to headbut you or the nearest wall as they are to say hello.

2)All Korean males smoke like a trooper from birth onwards with all Korean women smoking the moment they lose their virginity.

3)Koreans really like sex, they have it all the time, anywhere.

4)And finally, adultery & affairs are as common as breathing in Korea.

Film Review: So Cute

2005-07-28T12:27:00.000-08:00

What can I say except: WHAT???

There appears to be no real coherent story at all with this film, it leaves the audience wondering what the hell is going on, who's that, why is this happening & so on.

It could be a love story, it could be a drama, it could be a comedy, this is the riddle that the film gives us.

It has its funny, sad, dramatic moments but it doesn't have a theme.

I cant say that I like or dislike it, I don't know cause I really have no idea what happened.

Would I recommend this film, only to those who are devoid of anything better to watch or just curious.

And so comes an end to my Korean Film Festival.

Wiki's: a collective intelligence

2005-07-27T04:51:00.000-08:00

I like wiki's, in fact I love them, I particularly love Wikipedia the largest & greatest wiki of all.
I love reading them, I love it when I find a spelling mistake or some other error I can fix. I've even written an article, simple though the article is, even trivial. And after creating it the wiki took hold, others added relevant links, fixed spelling & even added a picture.The current article is at least 10 times better than what I originally created.

One of the coolest things about wiki's is their collective intelligence, no single person is a controlling authority, there is no one in charge. And it
doesn't matter that no one isn't running the show, what matters is what a single person knows that others don't, he adds this knowledge & everyone ends up smarter.

And on almost all topics everyone knows something that others don't, everyone has something they can contribute. So in a very direct way, a wiki is
a collective intelligence, and whatever their critics might say wiki's work; the quality of articles on Wikipedia are outstanding bar none (not including unfinished articles).

Film Review: The Coachman

2005-07-26T14:27:00.000-08:00

Another 1960's film.

Well what can I say, it's a story about a coachman struggling to support his family & deal with the economic realities of such a life.

It's ok but the film isn't nearly good (or bad) enough to be memorable.
So while an alright film it's nothing really special.

Film Review: Hypnotised

2005-07-26T08:26:00.000-08:00

Not good.

The musics pretty good, with a few really cool moments. However with a weak story where they try to make up for with LOTS of soft-core porn scenes.

Basicaly a story about infatuation & how it can destroy a person & the people aound them, with lots of sex scenes.

Film Review: Spider Forest

2005-07-26T08:23:00.000-08:00

This is a Murder mystery/drama with a good few twists & turns, there is nothing really exceptional about the story, acting or even the music.

Not exceptionally good nor bad, however it is exceptionally easy to forget.
I would tell you more about the actual story but I've already forgotten, something to do with ghosts & hallucinations caused by stress yadda yadda yadda.

In dreams

2005-07-25T02:32:00.000-08:00

Normaly I don't dream at night (I do but I usually don't remember), I try to keep my dreaming to the day time, especially when I'm on my bike ;-).

Last night (this morning actually) I dreamed me & one of my friends were in a Jeep, driving on the beach, pulling this old guy on a surf board behind us, when a huge wave came, washed the guy away & washed us (& the jeep) into a swamp or lake or something like that.

The car was sinking fast, so we closed up the windows, and it was strange, we could see out as it was isnking, the deep blue water, the bubbles streaming past.

And I dont think we were scared, the car filled up slowly, but sunk deep. It never reached the bottom, I woke up before then, before the car filled with water.
I don't know it just seemed strange I guess.

Film Review: A Moment to Remember

2005-07-24T13:55:00.000-08:00

I will warn you in advance, as I write this review that my t-shirt is wet... from tears.

I have only 2 regrets from this film:
1) That I didn't come earlier, it was quite full (surprisingly) so the seat I had was shit.
2) That I had to share the cinema with other people, if I had been alone I would have been crying my eye's out from halfway through the movie.

This has to be one of the most emotional, beautiful film's that I have ever seen.
It's funny, it's romantic, it's heart wrenchingly tradgic, it's just beautiful.

This is one of those films that makes you feel how glad you are to be alive when you wake up in the morning.

OK, slow down, breath......... in.......... out.......
I'm alright, Im fine, sorry; got choked up.

Alright, the real stuff; the story: first class, acting: first class, music:didn't notice so it was good.

What can I say, I think Ive said it all.

Actual details of the film well, girl meets guy, girl falls in love with guy, guy romances girl, guy & girl get married, guy loses girl.
The end.

But seriously go see this film, with you boyfriend/girlfriend husband/wife son daughter anyone, just not alone because this film will touch you in a way you never expected & you need to share that with your significant other.

Film Review: Aimless Bullet

2005-07-24T08:50:00.000-08:00

This film is now the third black & white film I've actually enjoyed (in my life).

Again a 1960's post Korean war flick, very 1940's western style.

I have to say I really REALLY like this film, it's extremely honest, & the acting is very intense & very realistic in comparison to other western films of a similar era.

It centers around a family dealing with post war Korea & Korean society, especially for ex-soldiers which were (seemingly) abandoned on leaving the army.

The film itself is slow & mostly quiet, nothing really exceptional but just a good story, believable acting, & pure honesty.

Again, I'm not a fan of older films but I think this is an exception, if only the west was this honest with itself.

This film was actually banned in Korea for a number of years after it's original release because it it's uncompromising truth.

Film Review: The Housemaid

2005-07-24T08:37:00.000-08:00

This is a 1960's Korean film with adultery as it's theme.

The style of the film is very 1940's western, it's dialog is cheesy, & the acting is the same along with many cliche's.
And it's because of these that makes this film a little gem, this film is so provocative for it's time that I can guarantee you it was banned from Catholic Ireland until recently, but to be honest I don't think anyone here knew about it until a few years ago anyway so it doesn't make much of a difference.

The film centers around a small family, husband (music teacher), traditional wife(makes cloths in home) & 2 children.
The family get a new home & find that they need a housemaid to keep it in order. The housemaid turns out to be after the husband & one night of "weakness" leads to the almost complete destruction of the family.

Two of the best points, when the husband is trying to go to his wife (downstairs) & the housemaid REALLY doesn't want him to, she grabs onto his leg, but this doesn't stop him, continuing to walk down the stairs with the housemaid attached to his leg. With her hitting her head on every step on the way down.

And the other at the end of the film, where the cast are all together for the, "well folks we've had a great time, but seriously adultery with the housmaid are nothing to be laughed at, you take care now" moment, although it wasn't in those exact word's it might as well have been.

I guess it's just from a different era.

The music is pretty terrible but doesn't add or take away from the film.

All in all the best black & white film I've seen since Schindlers List (1993) with Liam Neeson.

Film Review: This Charming Girl

2005-07-22T08:33:00.000-08:00

The debut film for writer/director Lee Yoon-ki, & star Kim Ji Soo, made in 2004.

The Gist

We follow the main character around, observing her routine & humdrum life. She's a post office worker & much of the film centers around it & her own apartment.

That's essentially it, you watch her do very mundane things, with the occasional flash back of a traumatic event in her childhood that has scarred her.

The Verdict

Two words:really slow.
The film never picks up the pace, & with very little dialog it's filled with intense scene's of the mundane & ordinary, if that's not your thing then this flick ain't either.

However it offers the opportunity to have a window on some one's simple life for a while, the music is very un-obtrusive & fitting. This is a well shot film with very suitable dialog & it truly lives up to it's name. By the end you see she really is just a charming girl.

I like this film, for the simplicity & how it celebrates the ordinary. It's a welcome break from the extra-ordinary story's that receives most attention. Sometimes the simple things in life are the most beautiful, I find the towards the end her character has really grown on me.

If you like "Lost in Translation" or "Before Sunset" & sub-titles don't bother you, this film is probably for you, however don't watch if your tired, you'll fall asleep.

A sidenote, the entire staff of the Korean embassy were there as this was the opening film of the festival, along with 4 Korean nun's(in full gear).

Can we learn through the internet?

2005-07-22T07:55:00.000-08:00

We've established learning is the transfer of knollege & skills from one person to another, & that this often happens through communication.
So what are the ways that we can communicate?

Through speech, writing, drawings I would think are the main ones. There is also examples, this can be done with video's if it's not hands on.

The internet allows us to communicate with each other through the above way's very efficiently, irrespective of time or location.
It can be asynchronous or synchronous (at the same time or different times).

So if we learn through communication(above mentioned methods), and we can communicate (again above) through the internet, then we can learn through the internet.

Which is very handy, because it means then that we don't have to be at there at that place or even time.

So can we learn through the internet?

Yes

For the gigolo in you

2005-07-21T15:11:00.000-08:00

For those of you who are aspiring to become a gigolo here's a few tips, from an old seasoned pro.

Ladies & Gentlemen....

2005-07-21T13:36:00.000-08:00

May I present to you, the life & times of......
an exotic dancer, and how to become one.

Because strippers are people too.

Attack of the non lethal green fly

2005-07-21T13:21:00.000-08:00

It was more of an over abundance than an attack but man, I must have swallowed at least 3 flies on the way to work this morning, and 2 on the way home. With hundreds more smacking into my face, I don't know what the story is but it's anoying.
There's nothin much worse than trying to fish a flies corpse out of your eye at high speed, on a questionable bike.

Learning from communication

2005-07-21T07:47:00.000-08:00

"Learning is the process of acquiring knowledge, skill, and attitudes and values, through study, experience or teaching, that causes a change of behavior that is persistent, measurable, and specified. It is a process that depends on experience and leads to long-term changes in behavior potential. Behavior potential describes the possible behavior of an individual (not actual behavior) in a given situation in order to achieve a goal."
Quoted from Wikipedia

I would think this is mostly correct but for one thing left out, communication.
Much of our knowledge & skills are acquired through communication,just plain old talking to people (or writing, drawing etc).

Books for example, lectures etc have always been some of the more traditional way's
of learning (through communication). Nowadays we have the internet, with blog's, wiki's & instant messenging, essentially this is the same thing but with a tweak; it's pervasive, ubiquitous, de-centralized & uncensored.

There is no monopoly on the information from the teacher, or even being a teacher. On the net we learn from anyone who knows more than us, not just teachers.

Laugh & the world laughs with you....

2005-07-20T10:34:00.000-08:00

You know the saying:
Laugh & the world laughs with you,
cry & you cry alone.

What a sad & lonely bastard that thought that one up, what a miserable fucking life he must have lead. Deserted by friends when in tough times, or maybe no one wanted to know.
I wonder did that sad fucker kill himself? Probably, but what's even worse is he's pretty much right.

I find when I'm low I'm on my own, I guess I could talk about it with my friends but I'd get labeled a sad, complaining, miserable bastard. And not many people would want to hang around them. I can't remember where I heard it but one of the things a guy looks for in a friend(male) is him being funny, that means no whiners.

As for girl's well, I don't know, never really tried it. Being in an all boys primary & secondary school I saw what happened when you do this around guy's & I wasn't really prepared to try it with girls by the time they came along.

What do I do if it's too much for me? What if it's more than I can bear?
No one to talk to, no one to share the burden with, alone.

When I feel like this I want to leave it behind, to just leave everything & go away, from everything. From all my problems, from all my responsibilities, from all my worries.

When you have some one to share the burden with, they can take it for a while, & when your stronger you can take it back, you can pick up from where you left off. With no one to share with all there is to do is leave, and when you do you leave everything for good, there is no coming back, there is nowhere to pick up again from. You burn all your bridges.

I like watching films, while I'm watching I forget my life, I forget my responsibilities, I forget my worries. And for a time I'm some one else, but then it all comes back, as strong as before.

Two weeks ago, for nearly an entire week I had no worries, I had no responsibilities, I had no problems. For that week I was myself without the problems, and I've never had that, I've never been there. And I know I can never have a week like that again in my life, for that one week everything was right, it was perfect, just by itself, with no work.

I'm glad it happened, and at the same time so sad to see it go. I can't bring it back, all I can do is remember. Sometimes life gets in the way, and it happens so fast that you don't even see it.
All you know is that you've changed, & you can never be the same again, & you don't know if it's better or worse, just different, everything different.

And to see the people from this life changing time go back to their own lives,it's almost enough to break your heart.

Day of shit

2005-07-20T10:09:00.000-08:00

I have had a really shitty day.
Didn't have any breakfast, crashed into a (stationairy) car on the way to work.
Had only 2 x 10 minute tasks for the entire day.
And then on the way home the guy who I hit calls & tells me it's gona cost me 200 Euro to fix his paint job.
And the only thing I had to look forward to when I got home was a bar of chocolate.

Shitty fuckin day.

Todays Wierd Link's

2005-07-20T07:01:00.000-08:00

Thanks again Jonas, don't know how he came across this one but it's sure wierd, or at least different.
Well here it is folk's Crying while Eating ,Horse Haters
&
Understanding Rednecks

Through the grape vine

2005-07-20T02:01:00.000-08:00

Isn't gossip an interesting thing?
I dont know which cultures gossip the most but I'm pretty sure that the Irish & Chinese are high up there on the list.
In recent conversations with my wife I have come to learn about some of the stories that are circulating about me & my wife
in her home city (in China).

When I talked to her yesterday, the first things was that an "individual" was spreading the "news".
The story was that I had divorced her(my wife) & that was why she was in China, alone for so long. Now you
might think that thats not such a big deal, but here's the funny bit; this person was going round telling:
the milkman
the hairdresser
the bycycle repair guy & others.

Whoa, that's nasty & here's something even more funny, the gossip has evolved, in one day.

No longer have I just abandonded my wife, but "apparently" my wife (before we got married) stole me off another girl,
FORCED me to marry her, & during the time while my wife was away(in China), I went back to the girl my wife stole me from, & then
got a divorce, & that's why she(my "divorced" wife) is staying in China so long.

Wow, I should copyright this stuff & see if I can make a soap out of it, this stuff is priceless gold!

But seriously, people who gossip have nothing better to do with their lives than talk about other, more interesting people.

And the it's the same here (in Ireland), I havn't heard any of the gossip going around but I know theres loads of it (about me & my wife, among other
things). To be honest I couldn't care less about it, I'm too busy living my own life to sit & gossip about some one else's.

Still think it's funny though, I wonder what the story will have evolved into in a weeks time? Perhaps that I am the OverFiend & my wife was
one of my victims, who knows.

Don't be a menace to society....

2005-07-20T00:47:00.000-08:00

I used to think that I was the mac daddy of cycling, the kind of guy that other cyclists want to be & motorists hate, I would sail through traffic, squeeze through impossible gaps. Red lights held no power over me!

This morning, on the way to work all was normal, I'm going through the city center, but I'm in my own little world. Dreaming away I look up & think "oh look the traffic lights are changing?".

Then I look forward & think "where did that come from?"

Then I hit the car.

Now can you say "Dumb shit!" & point at me?

Scratched up the back of his car real good, but he was cool about it, I gave him my name, number & address, he says he's not going to screw me(hope not).

Anyway, today's lesson is:
when your on the road don't fucking daydream.

Ring of Fire

2005-07-19T14:55:00.000-08:00

Love is a burning thing
and it makes a firery ring
bound by wild desire
I fell in to a ring of fire...

I fell in to a burning ring of fire
I went down,down,down
and the flames went higher.
And it burns,burns,burns
the ring of fire
the ring of fire.
(Johnny Cash, Ring of Fire)

Golden Romanian Smile Part Deux!

2005-07-19T05:20:00.000-08:00

An unfortunate situation to have gold teeth (Romainian steriotype)

I'm learning Swedish!

2005-07-19T04:58:00.000-08:00

If only all language lessons were this funny! After this you'll never approach language learning the same way again, or even at all.
(Thanks Jonas for this)

This was brought to you by SlayRadio, C64 & Amiga music remixes, nice.

Lesson 1
sound file

Lesson 2
sound file

Lesson 3
sound file

Parents say/do the darndest things.

2005-07-19T03:34:00.000-08:00

I was thinking last night(& just remembered) about some of the things my parents did & said; mainly my father.

I always had a habbit of eating stuff before anyone could get their hands on it. And over the yers this steriotype has continued.

One of the common complaints by my father was I would always eat/drink such n such before he even got the chance to touch it.
my defence was always that he would just leave stuff there until it goes off, & then becomes inedible.

recently this has been proven correct, I finished of a carton of Orange Juice, my dad was anoyed so I got him another one & this time I wouldn't touch it, at all.

2 months go by, the juice goes out of date, and it is now over 4 months since I got him that juice & it's still in the fridge.

This goes to prove 2 things.
1)My original belief that I had all these years had been proven correct
&
2)That despite the evidence parents will still always think they're right, the common excuse "but that was this time, what about next?".

Just goes to show i's nearly impossible to reason with parents.

That lasted long

2005-07-19T03:32:00.000-08:00

Well I didn't get up to run this morning, that plan lasted really long, a whole day.
I just hope my resolve to work is better than my resolve to workout.

Lunch today

2005-07-19T02:54:00.000-08:00

Ive got some head on me this morning, the baking powder got rid of the indigestion (for now) but Ive got a gut full of lead, and it's only 10:30am.
This day is going to drag on slower than mould gnawing it's way out of an old carton of milk. What have I got to look foreward to today? Maybee an email from
my wife, don't know; she didn't send me one yesterday, I'm sure she had a good reason (she'd better have a good reason).

Right now I'm looking foreward to 12, lunchtime, so i'll twiddle my thumbs here for another hour & a half detailing the excrutiating boredom of my
workday routine. In about 15 minutes i'll take a trip to the toilet, not because I need to go, because I need to be seen to move around & still alive.

"Yep I'm still here everyone, I haven't died at my desk yet, look I'm going to the jax; not interested, ok i'll see you again in about 45 for another trip."
Or maybee ill go & sit in the server room for a while, & look busy.

Thank god for iTunes & mp3's, if it were not for that i'd just sit here & drool, try to kill myself with a paper clip.

But theres only so many times you can listen to the same songs, until they start to get on your nerves *sings to himself* "I know a song that will get on your nerves, get on your nerves, get on your nerves, I know a song that will get on your nerves, get, get, get on your nerves.".
*Sings to himself again* " This aint no real work your doin here, oh no , this is the road to hell".

And what have I got to look foreward to for lunch? Cheese & mayionayse sanditches, the cheese coming from one of those re-sealable bags where it seals only
the middle & not the ends, the reasons I'm guessing is so not to sufficate children, you know children being a common item stored in such bags & what not.

Listening to the theme from terminator 2 now, keep picturing myself in leather coming into the office, load of guns & just going postal, I'm starting to
wonder how does this company actually make money, I mean I sit here & just waste my time, I guess (its 11am, great only 1 hour until lunch) there must be some one else who's actually doing something wirth getting paid for.

Thinking back to when I used to work in McDonnalds, it was hard work & the pay was absolutly crap, at the time I didn't qualify for minimum wage because I was under 18. But one thing about it was you never had to think, usually you never had time to think.

Now I get paid about double that & it gives me all the time in the world to think about how bored I am, so I guess I'm getting paid to be bored, not because
that's what the job requires but because thats the unoffial culture here, and from what Ive read on the net thats the unofficial culture in most places.

Think dilbert, think office space, think the office and thats where I'm at. One of the reasons I think that these are popular is because thats what
office life is actually like, but for some reason no one is allowed to say. It's like some big horrible corporate secret.

There is a lecturer from my college (Ed Dennehy), who is doing a thesis (for a doctorite) on synicysm in Irish the workplace, using the college as his example.
Better go for a toilet brake, I might hag out in the server room for a bit.
Back now, Im glad thats over with, wont have to that again until after lunch.

One of the more annoying things is not so much that I'm in a cubicle but half a cubicle, and I'm beside the isle, to which my boss walks past on a regular
basis, so i must give the impression of doing some work instead of actually doing work, I must seem busy instead of being busy.
Wo this is starting to sound very prolific, almost bhuddist, I should begin a manuscript.

Zen & the art of avoiding work.

To truly avoid work you must first believe, firstly that you are a very intelligent & productive soul;
secondly that the work that has been assigned to you is simply not worth doing, such that stalling, contemplating your exsistence, & trying to think of
different names for what you have done in order to give the impression to your superior that you have accomplished something.
Thirdly, that someone else somewhere within the company is going to actually do the work in your stead.

I might actually expand on this in the future, although it does sound like to much work.

11:25am, think i'll check my websites again, maybee something has changed.

HO-LY, I got yahoo chat working, oh it's so good, no longer alone behind this corporate firewall. (time is 11:32 & nothing new on my websites, & no one online I know to talk to).
20 minutes to lunch.

The food people are after emailing todays menu:

Tomato & Fresh Ginger Soup
***
Roast Topside Beef Served with Horseradish & Gravy
***
Hawaiian Ciabatta Pizza
***
Vegetable Mousaka
***
Crispy Roast Potatoes
***
Braised Red Cabbage &amp;amp; Apple
***
Rhubarb Crumble & Custard
*Selection of Ice Cream Now available *

oooh theyre getting fancy, putting pictures in their emails, wait a sec.... what they serve doesnt look like that!

Think I'm going to stick to my cheese sandwitches with cheese from non killing tiny child re-sealable bags.

Off to lunch I go, in 10 minutes.

Fight that fire inthe the belly with...

2005-07-18T18:02:00.000-08:00

A teaspoon of baking soda mixed in a glass of water. Well thats what I'm gona try.
Right now I'd eat dog crap if it would kill this pain.

Indigestion, electric toothbrushes & windows

2005-07-18T17:41:00.000-08:00

Went to bed pretty early cause I'm wrecked from my first day in the office (didnt sleep much the night before).
Well I got woken up after about 4 hours with indigestion, I gues that's what happens when your diet consists of milk, wheetabix & tesco noodles.
Anyway, all I could think of while I was in bed was "how useless are electric toothbrushes?, theyre like vibrators for your mouth, I mean are some people so lazy that they can't move their own hands properly to clean their teeth?".
My big sister got me a cheap one for my birthday, maybee it's just this model is crap(perhaps not all electric toothbrushes were created equally), I used it 2 times before giving up on the thing.

So I got up (exactly midnight) to go get some antacid, something to kill this fire in my gut, but the local shops only got calpol(chilrens cough medecine).
So I went up to my mothers, she aint got nothing either, so I decide to check the net for a household remedy, like bleach or toilet duck or something.
While I'm at it I log onto yahoo to see if anyones around & this guy hijacks my profile!

So I do what any self respecting system administrator would do, close the gate after the horses have left. Get some free antivirus, firwall, spyware killler etc, uninstall some crap.
And it's taken me 1 & 1/2 hours to get done! How useless is Windows?

Anyway, Im tired & I'm still gettin up early for a run so I gotta run.

The dead & the office worker

2005-07-18T10:01:00.000-08:00

H O L Y crap!
Work has gotten so boring I just can't believe humans can survive this.
I can't cut my wrists fast enough!
It's like, I wake up, get out of bed..... 11 hours later I'm beside the bed again, learned nothing new, had absolutely no new experiences.
I might as well have been in a comma I MEAN I DID NOTHING, and it's not like I had nothing to do it's just nothing was better than work!

Is this how most people make a living? Get up, clock in, die, clock out, resurrected!
I mean if this is what it means to "get a job" I'd rather be unemployed, I'd rather whore my ass out, at least it would be interesting!
I want to do work not have a job.
And what I have to do in that place is not work, it's digging holes in sand with a tea-spoon, take some out, some falls back in again, repeat for 9 hours, go home & do it all again tomorrow.

I am putting a bounty on my head as of this moment to take me out if I take a job in an office after college.
Thank the great & almighty god that this is just work experience.

A day in the park, the Pheonix park

2005-07-18T03:58:00.000-08:00

All pictures taken by Farris Bukhatwa

Work all day, for some old man...

2005-07-18T01:59:00.000-08:00

I got up this morning just after 5am, I probably only fell asleep around 2.30-3am so I definitely didn't get a good nights rest.
Was feeling sick from having Tesco noodles before I went to bed, my own fault, had a glass of water, got on my runners & went for a run.

Now you have to remember that I haven't run since I was 16, the most since then has been a short sprint to catch the bus.
Guess I must have run about 3km, by the time I got back to my front door I couldn't breath, it took another 1/2 hour on the floor before I
could get up again.

In work now, after my holiday's and it's pretty much the same, pretending to work, get the urgent stuff out of the way then just surf the net.
What a soul killing experience, the whole concept of this thing called an "office" should be banned, work is something you do not somewhere you go.

Now I have to see if I can keep up the whole morning routine, don't think it will last more than a week if I can't get to bed earlier than 12 and asleep
before 4am.

Your children own you.

2005-07-17T08:46:00.000-08:00

I had the realisaton last night that your kids own you. And it's not the first time I heard it, but it only registered last night.
I came in from a friends house (into my mothers), I wanted to check my mail but my sisters kids were having none of it, I was playing with them and that was final.

And I can just imagine when my wife & son return home, when I finish work or college as soon as I get in I'm theirs.
I could probably do something else but to be honest what could be better than playing with my kids & wife.

Korean Film Festival!!!!!

2005-07-16T13:42:00.000-08:00

The Korean Film Festival is starting onJuly 22nd in the IFI(Irish Film Institute) in Temple Bar.
I will be getting tickets for:
Spider Forest
A Moment to Remember
Hypnotised
So Cute
This Charming Girl
The Housemaid
Aimless Bullet
The Coachman

Films that I've already seen:
OLDBOY (a great great film, have it on DVD)
Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter... and Spring (Another great one, a good perspective on Bhuddism)
A Tale of Two Sisters (not great)
Save the Green Planet (OK, a bit too strange for me though).

Korean film has been getting really really good lately, especially with OldBoy.
I'll put up a review of the films as I go see them.
Oooooh so looking foreward to it.

You know your single when...

2005-07-16T07:10:00.000-08:00

You have microwave popcorn for your lunch.
You get up after mid-day whenever your not working.
You dont change your cloths for more 3 days or more because your "not doing anything".
You shave once a week or less because your "not doing anything".
You shower once every 3 days or less because your "not doing anything"
You dont shower on Saturday & Sunday because your not working & your "not doing anything"
You find that your fridge is stocked with empty milk cartons & out of date eggs.
Your only food source is Tesco noodles & Wheetabix.
Your freezer has food in it more than a year old.
You have your own apartment but spend most your time up in your mothers.
You microwave CD's because your bored.
You pray to god someone will email/text/call you just so you can talk.
You blog too much about nothing.

I'm not single but I might as well be, my wife & son are in China and I ave been away from them for nearly a year.

Best Stuff from the 80's

2005-07-16T05:15:00.000-08:00

I was born in the 80's, and it's the decade that I spent my childhood.
And I have been planning for some time to get all my favourite songs from that time.
true there was some really really REALLY bad music/cloths/films then but there was some good stuff too.

I want to capture the best from that periond, the best music, the best films, maybe not the cloths I still think that was a mistake.

For music so far I have:
Anne Lennox/Eurithmics
Steve Wonder
Air Supply
Roy Orbison

For films:
Top Gun
Labyrinth
The Never Ending Story

Any other suggestions please leave a post.

A BBQ to far

2005-07-15T15:57:00.000-08:00

Today I had the 3rd BBQ in 2 weeks and I just cant take anymore, Im stuffed, I had so much meat all I could do was lie on the grass & gurgle for a good hour. Im goin to get fat if the weather stays like this (very nice) for much longer.
And my gran got drunk again, she started falling off her chair & trying to do leg kicks to her own version of Sinatra.
But if thats the worst complaint about life I have then I'm pretty fortunate & hope it stays this way.

There simply is nothing better than having a belly full of food & kicking back to have a look at the sky for a while, well just a few things better.

Another one leaves the nest

2005-07-15T03:57:00.000-08:00

My little sister left today, moved to London with her boyfriend.
She'll be back in a week to get more of her stuff.

I don't know what to feel, I'm happy for her that she's living the life she wants now but at the same time I'm gonna miss her.

My little sister is growing up, wow when did that happen?

Golden Romanian Smile

2005-07-14T07:53:00.000-08:00

When me & Ferris were in town last night we had some Chinese in Charlie's II(cheap for Chinese) in temple bar.
I ordered roast duck & Ferris had kung po chicken.

We were sitting there eating our food, with 2 guys beside us.
One of them starts to ask us what we are eating, he then asks me can
he have some of my food (I didn't know these people), so I give him
some, he then wants me to have some of his, no thanks.

He says "look at those lovely girls" as
some walk past the window, I show him my ring and saying I'm
married, he then asks what I do how old am I and stuff like
that.
I give him the low down, 22, wife & child, job & college & supporting parents (not really,I just started exaggerating)
And then as me and Ferris are leaving his friend gives me a piece of
paper saying he's from Kosovo & he has a wife & child & can he have
some money.
Both these guys had a mouth full of gold teeth, nice leather jackets, and his friend was only after telling me they're Romainian.
Well I laughed & left.

So in future if a Romainian start talking to you be careful he's either looking to have your dinner or your money.

I need some sleep

2005-07-14T07:44:00.000-08:00

For the past week I've been having to much of a great time to really get much sleep usually about 4-5 hours, yesterday I got 2 hours.

Well by about 9pm last night me & Ferris were in town, and well the effects of not getting enough sleep were plain to see.
I kept seeing my friends faces everywhere & everyone I heard talk appeared to be speaking German.
In conclusion not getting enough sleep causes you to hear German.

It begins here

2005-07-14T07:29:00.000-08:00

27 degree's was one of the highest tempature during that week in July 2005, it was some of the finest weather I have ever seen in dirty Dublin and so this blog is named in honor of it.