May 2012
3 posts
3 tags
Moving House...
I’m in the process of moving homes for the first time in about 7 years.. As a result I am find all sorts of crap I completely forgot about.. including my notebook of old poems.. I’ve had this notebook since I was a teenager.. And the first few poems are ones I’d painstakingly copied from an older notebook.
There are some gems I wrote when I must have been around ten. My current...
3 tags
#FlashFiction Moving On..
I moved the stone today. It had been staring at me.
The way stones do.
Accusing me of abandonment.
It’s not my fault a stone is hard to love.
I tried to reason with it first. I pointed out that I’d kept it safe these last 15 years. That’s quite a lifetime for a pet rock. Most of my friends lost theirs within the first few months.
It didn’t seem to matter. My stone just kept on staring.
I shouted...
1 tag
April 2012
10 posts
1 tag
1 tag
1 tag
1 tag
1 tag
1 tag
1 tag
1 tag
1 tag
1 tag
March 2012
4 posts
#QEDcon!!! →
I’m heading to my first sceptical conference tomorrow where I hope to Question, Explore & Discover lots of shiny new nuggets of information.
I am very excited… not least cause it’s in Manchester and I haven’t been to Manchester in yonks. I fully intend to get to the Aflecks Palace at some point.. and also there’s this one pub that does EPIC French onion soup..
...
Do you want to start a party?
Yesterday I read the news that Sean Sherlock had sign into law the “not” Sopa Ireland law. Despite 80,000 people saying please don’t. Despite businesses in the tech industry saying it was a bad idea. At the same time he announced a public consultation on copyright law in Ireland… Why he had to bring in the law before the consultation is beyond me, but that’s politics in Ireland..
On the same day...
February 2012
3 posts
4 tags
Seriously.. Is there is a war on women's rights?
Following on from my last blog..
Legislation that passed in Virginia:
http://www.rhrealitycheck.org/article/2012/02/15/government-sanctioned-rape-in-state-virginia-and-texas
What happened in the Senate Yesterday:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/16/contraception-hearing-house-democrats-walk-out_n_1281730.html
In Ireland.. that X case, and it’s lack of legislation:
...
A General News Rant Blog... or ARRGHRGRHGRHRGRHHH! →
I’m grumpy.. and tired.. but mostly grumpy.. I’ve been reading news feeds again. I really shouldn’t.. it’s bad for my mental health.
In America the ongoing war on women’s rights is ramping up. Not content with limiting access to abortions, the Grand Old Party has set their sites on reducing access to affordable contraception.
Women.. if you are pregnant, in a dire...
January 2012
3 posts
New World Order →
So I was reading this opinion piece in the Guardian about a referendum on the EU.
Within the first page of comments we had a reference made to the New World Order:
As it happens I am of the belief that this entire crisis was manufactured so that some extremely dodgy legislation and political moves could be enacted on both sides of the Atlantic which pave the way for a very new form of...
4 tags
Dear @RickSantorum: Women are People too.
An Open Letter to Rick Santorum from an interested observer across the pond:
Dear Rick (I hope you don’t mind me calling you that),
I have noticed your recent achievement of almost winning in Iowa. Congratulations on only losing by 8 votes. However, I think there are a few things you may need to review before moving on to the next part of the election process.
I believed (up until recently)...
December 2011
5 posts
Top 10 Women 2011 by me :o)
So I have been thinking about the kerfuffle with the BBC and it’s ridiculous inability to acknowledge women’s achievements in the last year..
I decided to compile my own list of top ten women in 2011…
And it was surprisingly hard to come up with well known examples. I struggled. Is it because women don’t get as much press? I am curious.
Anyways.. here’s my...
@ProfBrianCox has blown my mind
So I am still trying to pick up the puddle bits of brains left after watching last nights “A Night with the Stars” with Prof Brain Cox.
I think my brain broke around the theory (law? Fact?) that all electrons communicate at a subatomic level, because know electron can exist at the same frequency as another electron in the entire Universe..
So (I think) this means that bits of...
3 tags
The Immaculate Conception and the Second Coming**
So last Saturday I was at a friend’s place for a Yule get-together (said friend being of the pagan variety). A discussion started around the tradition of “Culchie Shopping Day”. This, for those of you who are unaware, is the annual pilgrimage that families from outside the pale make to Dublin for the Christmas shopping.
Traditionally it falls on The Feast of the Immaculate...
Mandatory Science?
I was involved in a brief discussion on twitter earlier about whether or not Science should be mandatory in schools up to Junior Cert.
It was very difficult to articulate my position in 140 characters or less so I’m going for the easy option of blogging a response.
And my opinion is that it isn’t a good idea. Not everyone has an aptitude for science and not all schools have the...
Alternative Christmas Cake - or Chocolate Biscuit...
Here is a totally easy totally nommy cake you make if Christmas cake isn’t your thing:
Here’s what you need:
1 bowl
1 saucepan
1 wooden spoon
1 rolling pin
1 cake tin (preferably loaf)
Greaseproof paper.
Boiling water
Chocolate
Packet of digestives
Packet (or two) of malteasers
2 crunchies
1 (or two) shots of cointreau
Put boiling water in saucepan
Put bowl over...
November 2011
4 posts
Ooooooh @BoardsDeals casual sexism has annoyed me
Here’s the text from today’s deal:
Does your boyfriend or husband love his cars just as much as he loves you? Make his Christmas Day unforgettable with an adrenaline filled driving experience that will last in his memory for years to come! Pay just €139 instead of €309 for a Exhilarating Drive in a Ferrari in Dublin on a 50km road trip for with Gold…
Uhm… what about the race car loving...
2 tags
Bullying On My Mind...
Every so often a memory of a person I went to university with surfaces. I’ll be walking down the street and suddenly his face pops up in my mind. For no real discernable reason.
He’s a very important memory for me.
This is hard to write about. But I think it needs to be written.
Hi name is/was Roger C. Forryan. And I bullied him.
To be honest I didn’t realise, or even...
What was I thinking?
I just found this in my outbox.. not sent.. the email composition date is 10/11/2010.. more than a year ago..
“Every step forward I take moves the world.
A tiny insignificant amount.. but it moves it.”
“What?”
“The world, I move it, you move it, the laws of physics and the universe, equal and opposite forces!”
“What are you on about?”
...
#Airtricity cold calling scam
Representatives from Airtricity called round to my apartment a few weeks ago, to check and make sure I was on the right rate for gas and electricity.
At no point during the conversation did they ask if I wanted to move my gas bill to Airtricity (I don’t).
But apparently they elected to put through a move request on my behalf.
Be warned..
Be very clear when talking to gas &...
October 2011
7 posts
#Geeks Game and Drink #Caffeine (again!)
What is Geeks Go Gaming:
Well we’re a group of Geeks that meet up once a month to play games
What type of games:
Any old kind of game:
Board games, card games, strategy games, Table-top etc
Basically, if it’s geeky and you bring it along, we’ll play it.
Where:
Accents Cafe on Stephen’s street.
When:
Sunday 20th November.
Where can you find out more?
Contact me via twitter or...
Election Post
I’m trying to figure out how to order my votes for tomorrow’s Presidential election.
I was going to go with David Norris first and Higgins second.. but I’m now beginning to believe that Higgins should be first to give him a fighting chance against Gallagher..
If Gallagher gets the presidency it means nothing was learnt over the last 3 years..
As for the two referenda. I am...
Anonymous asked: your post of the 7th of October is wonderful. Any tips to find love?
Dime Bar
I have dropped my phone in the toilet.. yes I know.. I am a genius!
Anyways, as a result I will be un-contactable on my number for the foreseeable future..
Thankfully yesterday I ordered a new phone, which is winging it’s way to be right this very minute. But it’s with a new network and they haven’t yet ported my number over. (also I haven’t yet got the phone).. at...
#Octocon →
No ranty blog post :o)
Tomorrow is >Octocon.. which is the National Irish Science Fiction Convention. This year’s Guest of Honour is John Higgens. This is the first year I will be going as a regular member rather than committee member so I am quite excited.. I’ll get to see stuff.
So right now I am currently attempting to figure out what I want to go to..And there are too many...
John Waters & Catholicism
So this article by John Waters juxtaposes nicely with the Pope song by Tim Minchin that’s been running around my head since the gig last night. In some respects I agree with John. A priest should not be assumed to be guilty of abuse solely because of the actions of other members of their organisation. RTE should never have broadcast “A Mission to Prey”. Their facts were wrong and...
Two Years Ago..
My mum just texted me to let me know that two years ago today I got my mis-diagnosis of liver cancer.
Wow.. two years.
Strangely those two years have been some of the best two years of my adult life (despite losing half my liver & my gallbladder).
I think facing the very real possibility of my imminent demise made things simpler.
I got rid of an awful lot of emotional baggage I had been...
September 2011
10 posts
3 tags
#UniqueSexism
There is a shop in Dublin called Unique Menswear.. It tends to sell leather jackets, t-shirts, boxers, generic guy stuff..
While walking past their shop in the Ilac Centre one particular t-shirt in their window display caught my eye..
As I was photographing this classy piece of menswear, I noticed the t-shirt next to it..
In case you can’t read the full text: Judgement Day is here:...
Thoughts on the Death Penalty
The recent execution of Troy Davis has once again brought the death penalty and it’s surrounding politics into the light.
I suppose I should start by saying that I am an out and out pinko liberal socialist European, so I may be slightly biased against the death penalty to start off with.
I completely disagree with it. It is a hangover from an earlier time and like most out-dated ideas...
Geeks Go Gaming - the review
So yesterday, the First Geeks Go Gaming of the new term took place in Accents coffee shop..
Things that were good:
- The coffee shop does the most AMAZING hot chocolate.. it’s om-nom-tastic.
- The layout downstairs is pretty good.. if we could snag one of the corner sections next time (the one with lots of couches) it’d be good.
- The table size was pretty good for card games....
#SpeakGeek- My love affair with books.
I feel I should come clean..
I am a geek
To be fair, if you follow my blog or twitter feed at all this will not come as a huge surprise.
My geek credentials include: Being on the Con-Committee for Octocon (for two years), Being secretary for the Golden Blasters (Irish science fiction/fantasy/horror short film awards), Organising (or at least trying to organise) a regular monthly geek gaming...
5 tags
Experimenting with iPhone Art
I like to draw.. I am not exceptionally good at proper art, but at doodling I win.. So I downloaded this app for my iphone called ArtStudio, which allows finger painting. It’s pretty good.. at least for someone like me..
Here’s my first attempt:
Which I quite like.. (hence me showing it to you)..
But.. I have this other app on my iphone called Lo-Mob which allows you to add...
3 tags
#Geeks Game and Drink #Caffeine
I want to play some games.. and I want to drink coffee.. to enable this I am going to be in Accents Coffee shop (http://accentslounge.wordpress.com/) from about 2 pm next Sunday with all my games..
I mostly have card games: Dominion, Apples to Apples, Gloom, We Didn’t Playtest This etc.
If you want to play games too come join me :o)
There’ll be caffeine, cake and hot...
Things that go Geek
First Things First:
Speak out with your Geek out..
http://speakoutwithyourgeekout.tumblr.com/
After the gizmodo article kerfuffle the other week, Monica Valentinelli (game designer &author) decided that it was time for the geeks & nerds of the world to speak up about their hobbies, passions and interests..
Here’s what she’s proposing we do: Sometime on the week of September 12th, from...
August 2011
3 posts
Room to let
In my gorgeous top floor (aka penthouse) apartment..
The Location:
Monastery Road. Close to bus stop and less than 5mins from Red Cow Luas stop. (so max time from city centre is 35 mins - by Luas.. Min time is 20 - by bus)
The Room:
Large room with tonnes of storage space & a double bed.
The Apartment:
It’s a big apartment with 2 bedrooms. 1 main bathroom (I have an ensuite, so the main...