tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-81375088775194450112024-03-13T05:35:35.604+00:00Inane RamblingsExactly what it says on the tin
<a href="http://inanerambings.blogspot.com/2007/07/inane-ramblings.html">http://inanerambings.blogspot.com/2007/07/inane-ramblings.html</a>5h4mr0(khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13769440361897282782noreply@blogger.comBlogger46125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8137508877519445011.post-31068105903365859312008-06-04T15:09:00.004+01:002008-06-05T00:34:19.011+01:00Sneaking Under The Lisbon Treaty RadarBy now everyone on this Island of ours, on the western side of Europe, has heard about the up coming referendum to ratify the Treaty Of Lisbon. From what I've read on different web sites and on foreign news channels, most of the people in the EC are aware of the referendum here too as we are the only county in the EC which is holding a referendum to ratify the treaty. The other countries current governments have the power to ratify the treaty without consulting the voters.<br /><br />The Treaty is, apparently, a huge document of wishie-washie beaurocratic gobbledy-gook. I haven't read it, nor would I attempt to. Instead I bided my time and got <a href="http://www.lisbontreaty2008.ie/HandBookEng.pdf">the booklet</a> from the Referendum Commission.<br /><br />Most of the debate on the referendum has been about how the treaty will be good or bad for Ireland, depending on which side you're listening to. The booklet is fair in it's presentation of the things and just presents the facts in a fairly easy to read manner - not an easy thing to do considering the subject manner.<br /><br />I read the booklet carefully, getting to grips with each part. Most of the treaty seems to be concerned with making the EU fairer for all the member states and giving new member states an equal say. This involves Ireland having to give up some of it's voting power. This is what most of the "Yes" and "No" campaigners have been going on about. <br /><br />But then I hit one small line which actually said what the change to our constitution will be. THIS is what we're being asked to vote on. THIS is the change that is being proposed and it's not just about the Treaty Of Lisbon.<br /><br />To quote the booklet...<br /><blockquote>This means that any national government may veto<br />such a proposal. If the European Council does agree a<br />proposed change, any national parliament may prevent<br />these changes coming into effect. <span style="font-weight:bold;">Under the proposed<br />amendment to the Constitution of Ireland the approval of<br />the Dáil and Seanad will be required for Ireland to agree<br />to such proposed changes. Such changes would not<br />require a referendum in Ireland.</span></blockquote><br /><br />The piece in <span style="font-weight:bold;">bold </span>is what hit me. By voting "Yes" to change the Constitution of Ireland, the government want us to not only ratify the Treaty of Lisbon, but they also want to make sure that they don't have to ask us about any future EU treaties.<br /><br />This came as a surprise to me as I haven't heard anyone, in any media let people know about this. I presumed I must be misreading it, so I looked up the <a href="http://www.lisbontreaty2008.ie/ReferendumWordingEnglish.pdf">wording of the change to the constitution</a>. It says <br /><blockquote>8° The State may exercise the options or discretions provided by or under Articles 1.6, 1.9, 1.11,<br />1.12, 1.13 and 2.1 of the Treaty referred to in subsection 7° of this section but any such exercise<br />shall be subject to the prior approval of both Houses of the Oireachtas.</blockquote><br /><br />I don't think I've misinterpreted it.<br /><br />If the change is passed this will be the last referendum we have on anything to do with the EU. The last members of the voting public which can ratify or reject EU treaties will be gone. I guess the government figure something that important can't be left to idiots that voted them in in the first place.5h4mr0(khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13769440361897282782noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8137508877519445011.post-32493803057131776002008-05-29T12:59:00.005+01:002008-05-29T16:26:21.098+01:00Girls Can't Skim StonesWhile surfing the other evening I came across this ball which bounces on water. It's called a Waboba. It looks pretty cool. You can see a video of it in action <a href="http://i4u.us.wannahaves.com/item/BABEFC2B">here</a>.<br />While I was starting to watch the video, the Better Half came into the room and started watch it too.<br /><br />"Can you do that thing with stones bouncing on the water?" she asked me.<br /><br />"Skimg stones?! Of course I can" I replied, "I'm a guy."<br /><br />"I can't" she said.<br /><br />"No" I replied "because you're not a guy."<br /><br />"My father can" she said.<br /><br />"Duh! Of course he can. He's a guy!"<br /><br />She was a bit confused now and seemed to be toying with the idea of accusing me of being sexist. Me!? Sexist?! I wasn't being sexist, I was just stating a fact of life.<br /><br />Girls can't skim stones!<br /><br />She didn't agree, so I did a quick straw poll and found that 100% of the women in room could not skim stones. Not convinced by these hard facts I tried some research on the topic on the internet. What better place to find hard evidence than the web site for the <span style="font-style:italic;"><a href="http://www.stoneskimming.com/">World Stone Skimming Championships</a></span> which take place on a little island off the coast of Scotland called Easdale.<br /><br />The results of the 2007 championships speak for themselves. The winner of the women's event, from South Africa, skimmed her stone 29m. Second was 26m and third 23m.<br /><br />The Better Half thought that this was evidence that they could skim stones, but I had to point out that these were basically statistical anomalies. Freaks if you will. After all these were fully grown women at the peak of their stone skimming careers taking part in the world championships, and yet the winning distance in the under 10 boys competition was 24m. A puny young boy! He would have come third in the women's competition. The boys in the 10-15 years section got much better distances than the best of the women.<br /><br />To further demonstrate my point there was only one girl in the girls under 10 years section that managed to skim a stone! One! In the whole world!<br /><br /><br />I did another straw poll at work, and again found that 100% of the female responses were that they couldn't skim stones, but her boyfriend could.<br />She put it down to the wrist action of fellas and that girls couldn't be arsed.<br /><br />Girls can't skim stones! Okay - maybe there's some evidence that girls can skim stones, but I it's a bit like girls peeing standing up. They can do it but it's not a pretty site and they'll be wet after.5h4mr0(khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13769440361897282782noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8137508877519445011.post-28613914790245067162008-04-17T17:06:00.008+01:002008-04-18T16:32:09.166+01:00Crysis CrisisLast Christmas, my ever thoughtful Better Half, did her ever vigilant research into the latest computer games to find something that she thought was good and that I'd enjoy. She came up trumps yet again and on Christmas morning I unwrapped Crysis.<br /><br />Crysis was one of the most eagerly awaited and talked about games last year. It was going to push PCs and their graphics cards to whole new limits. It set a new benchmark in graphics. Great game - IF your PC and graphics card could handle it. Therein lay the problem. My graphics card just didn't have the power that could handle it. The game would have to wait.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Hardware</span><br />Over the past few months I'd have a look at graphics cards. Mostly I'd think they were too expensive and then forget about it again for a few weeks. Every so often, the Better Half, would ask if I'd checked out new graphics cards and that I should get one. This process repeated several times until just over a week ago.<br /><br />I spotted a very good card (GeForce 8800GT in case you're wondering), and it was on sale. 33% off! It was more than I had planned spending, but it would probably do me for much longer than the card I had been considering. Finally I bit the bullet and ordered the card. As the card was PCI Express, I knew it would need a 6 pin power connector. My power supply didn't have one, so I ordered a converter cable from eBay.<br /><br />A few days later the card arrives. I opened the box and had a quick read of the instructions, especially the power requirements section. They strongly discouraged the use of the power cable converters. The only think for it was to order a new power supply unit (PSU).<br /><br />Checked around a few sites. Found a 650w PSU at a reasonable price so I ordered it. I was hopeful that it would arrive before the weekend so I could put in. (Insert your own rant about courier companies here - I'm sure you have one.) I got the PSU on Monday.<br /><br />Monday evening. Better Half is out visiting. The Yoddler (sort of a yodelling toddler) is asleep. I get to work.<br /><br />I removed the old graphics card and PSU. Took them outside and cleaned them with an air duster. Took the rest of the PC outside and cleaned it with the air duster. Put in the new PSU. Put in the graphics cards. Connected up all the power cables. Reconnected keyboard, mouse, audio cables, USB cables, network cable and power cable. Then I hoped it would all work first time. Surprise, surprise - it did! I then made some changes to the BIOS settings, and installed the latest drivers etc for the graphics card.<br /><br />Total time to disassemble and reassemble: About 2 hours.<br /><br />It was getting late so I figured I'd leave installing Crysis until the next night.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Software</span><br />One night later. I got to the PC at 9ish in the evening. I started to try to remove the plastic wrapper from the game box. It didn't want to come off and put up a brave fight before finally relenting. It was so hard to get it off, I figured that would be the hardest part of the game installation.<br /><br />I popped the DVD in the drive. The autorun program started, and I clicked on install. I chose where I wanted it installed to and let it go to work. It chugged along, copying files from the DVD to PC (as they do) and updating the little progress bar on the way. All went fine until it popped up with an error message saying that the <span style="font-style:italic;">sounds~.pak</span> file was corrupt. Being the friendly sort of error message it offered me some choices - abort, retry or ignore. I chanced retry. It chugged on as before (still updating the progress) and then repeated the error message.<br /><br />I clicked retry (again). While it was busy, I decided I'd copy the DVD to the hard disk, and then try to install from there when it was done. While that was going on I started surfing a little to see if this was a common problem. Apparently it is.<br /><br />At this stage the error message had appeared another couple of times. The copying of the DVD to the hard disk was going to take a while (it was estimating over an hour since the install was attempting to run as well). The possible solutions I'd found involved installing from the hard disk (as I was going to try) - or that the memory in the PC might be a little dodgy. Either way, it was now over two hours since I started installing the game, so I left it alone and went to bed.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Software Day 2</span><br />In the morning, the error message was there again, but the DVD seemed to had copied. That evening I attempted to install from the hard disk. It proceeded as before and then threw up the same message.<br /><br />"It has to be the memory then" I thought. I powered down, turned the tower on its side and opened it up. I took out two sticks of memory and powered it back up. I tried opening the offending file from the hard disk using WinRAR. Same error - it said the file was corrupt. I powered it off again, and then retried with each stick of memory individually, with the same result every time. I could only conclude that I was unlucky with buying 4 dodgy sticks of RAM, or else there was something wrong with the DVD itself. I assumed the latter and put all the memory back in and rebooted.<br /><br />Then, for some reason, I figured I'd try and open the file with WinRAR from the DVD. It worked. I copied the file (again) from the DVD to PC and reran the installation. It got further and then gave the same message but for a different file. I tried opening that file from the DVD with WinRAR and it succeeded. I decided to give the installation one more go from the DVD, and it worked. All the way, no problems. No tries. Just a simple, normal install.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Inconclusive Conclusion</span><br />The only difference between that install and the first ones was that the tower was on it's side, and not upright. This means that the DVD was spinning on its side instead of lying flat. Of course, that shouldn't make it difference, but I assume it could have. I didn't uninstall and reinstall to test it.<br /><br />All in all it probably took over 5 hours to just get the game installed. On the plus side, that's still faster than installing Windows 95 from floppies!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.thisway-up.co.uk/images/logo.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px;" src="http://www.thisway-up.co.uk/images/logo.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>5h4mr0(khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13769440361897282782noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8137508877519445011.post-3015434138852661022008-04-08T12:07:00.003+01:002008-04-08T12:55:01.363+01:00Technology Drives AmokFunny how things go. Hadn't read a casual blog about a GPS in ages, then when I'm going to wrote one, <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/%7Er/HeadRambles/%7E3/265599958/">Grandad does one</a>, and Michele posts a <a href="http://www.mneylon.com/blog/archives/2008/04/07/gprs-on-the-cheap/">cartoon</a> on one. Loads of room on the bandwagon so I'll post anyway.<br /><br />I was going to family party the other night. Since I was planning on having a beverage or two, I arranged to stay at my aunt's house and travel with them to the party. Her hubby, UncleM, has a humongous Land Rover and all it's bells and whistles have bells and whistles.<br /><br />UncleM and myself head to the <span style="font-style:italic;">car</span> (it's a bit like saying an aircraft carrier is a boat) and he tells me to get in the front. In the dashboard is fairly large screen with the names of lots of radio stations on it. He touches a button on it, marked TV, and RTE1 comes on. "Not a bad picture" he remarks, as AuntyM struggles to heave herself up the considerable height into the back of the <span style="font-style:italic;">car</span>. We pull off, the picture disappears for safety reasons, so he changes it back to the radio.<br /><br />On route to the party we are to pick up CousinP. Going through the city centre, UncleM is playing tour guide and showing me the sites, obviously taking the mick as I've know the place since I was a kid.<br /><br />From the back of the car we hear "Take such and such a road" as AuntyM gives directions to CousinP's house.<br /><br />We're stopped at traffic lights. "Have you seen the Sat Nav?" askes UncleM. He hits another button and a map is displayed on the screen.<br /><br />"In 200 metres turn left" says Sat Nav. "I don't know where's it's going. Can't remember what it's set to" says UncleM. "She's got a lovely voice. I've asked her out but she ignores me" he says.<br /><br />"Go straight to the end of this road" says AuntyM.<br />"In 400 metres turn right" says Sat Nav.<br />Uncle Mike turns left.<br />"Where are you going?" says AuntyM.<br />"In 200 metres turn left" says Sat Nav.<br />Uncle Mike turns right, onto a narrow little road, which has just enough room for one normal sized car at a time. He navigates the road and finally arrives to CousinP's house, Sat Nav all the while giving different directions to some unknown location.<br /><br />"I must read the manual on it" remarks UncleM, while CousinP is trying to figure out an elegant and appropriate lady-of-her-age manner to negotiate the climb into the back.<br /><br />As we start to leave the housing estate CousinP says "Turn left here and go to the end of the road".<br />"Turn left" agrees Sat Nav.<br />"Why didn't you turn left?" questions AuntyM as UncleM goes straight across the intersection.<br /><br />"In 400 metres turn left" says Sat Nav.<br />"That's right" remarks CousinP. "What's that voice?" she asks.<br /><br />"That's the Sat Nav" says AuntyM. "Turn left at the lights".<br /><br />UncleM turns right and heads to the next roundabout while receiving helpful comments like "See you've gone backwards to go forwards".<br />"At the roundabout take the third exit" barks the Sat Nav.<br />"That Sat Nav is a little loud" says CousinP.<br />"It is loud" says AuntM.<br /><br />"I don't know how to shut her up" says UncleM.<br /><br />I presumed he was talking about the Sat Nav, but I might have been wrong.<br /><br />Oh, we did make it to the party.5h4mr0(khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13769440361897282782noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8137508877519445011.post-72163692572291486222008-04-01T12:29:00.008+01:002008-04-10T16:23:01.964+01:00The Signs Were There...I was watching <span style="font-style:italic;">Match Of The Day 2</span> the other night when the highlights of Tottenham Hotspur v Newcastle came on. Spurs were playing at home, and despite going ahead in the first half, they crumbled and lost 4-1.<br /><br />Spurs have already qualified to play in Europe next season, for the UEFA cup. They won't qualify for the Champions League, and they won't get relegated. They really don't have anything to play for and seemed to be concentrating on just getting to the end of the season and then enjoying their summer holidays. <span style="font-weight:bold;">The signs</span> were there for all to see.<br /><br />The commentator on the game was interviewing the assistant manager afterwards. He'd seen the signs and put it to the assistant. He denied this was the case. He mustn't have seen <span style="font-weight:bold;">the signs</span>...<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqYLUAKK1sP-qDBUxxF6fyVGDRL6nhAmXfziGc6GuLPhwqkhydhnwttL36137OzfCcIxbWq6bvuE-wKw85Q_OS-OStriZXwKens2O4b6BZmonz49k2JRLkddN8lmqFQhFevsVFozNXehvV/s1600-h/DSC00447.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqYLUAKK1sP-qDBUxxF6fyVGDRL6nhAmXfziGc6GuLPhwqkhydhnwttL36137OzfCcIxbWq6bvuE-wKw85Q_OS-OStriZXwKens2O4b6BZmonz49k2JRLkddN8lmqFQhFevsVFozNXehvV/s400/DSC00447.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5185513315467617890" /></a><br /><br />Edit: <span style="font-style:italic;">check the advertising SIGNS</span>5h4mr0(khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13769440361897282782noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8137508877519445011.post-4697024515033782512008-03-20T23:15:00.001+00:002008-03-20T23:17:22.182+00:00The Correct Way To Drown The Shamrock<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGHB3Q5jq4e91jExhZjwb__TdWvWU8GzgRpeMf11GrUDEm0QNbcILjWiPWIWYn3gG38P-rJE19MK1dNDXcB-zC1xjYPXl9Bt3NOMAiTgOqU2hHJSYIVEh6_HiMif7j7UyHXE3bWvPQohvH/s1600-h/DSC00435.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGHB3Q5jq4e91jExhZjwb__TdWvWU8GzgRpeMf11GrUDEm0QNbcILjWiPWIWYn3gG38P-rJE19MK1dNDXcB-zC1xjYPXl9Bt3NOMAiTgOqU2hHJSYIVEh6_HiMif7j7UyHXE3bWvPQohvH/s400/DSC00435.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5179966837651233858" /></a>5h4mr0(khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13769440361897282782noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8137508877519445011.post-42252649003408093822008-03-12T00:05:00.005+00:002008-03-12T00:17:10.385+00:00The Good Old DaysBack when men knew how to handle women...<br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/kev.ryan/Chamonix2008/photo#5176243232463373746"><img src="http://lh4.google.com/kev.ryan/R9W1y4X_xbI/AAAAAAAAAbs/AcfZc2O9aF8/s800/DSC00409.JPG" /></a><br />Notice that the rope is tied around the ladies' waists, but the men are only holding it...5h4mr0(khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13769440361897282782noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8137508877519445011.post-27215442700292778222008-02-28T23:30:00.005+00:002008-02-28T23:48:55.830+00:00A Rose By Any Other Name....I like the specials in Lidl. I've mentioned this before. I'm nearly always tempted by something there - luckily I do talk myself down most of the time, and I've avoided having a house full of stuff that I don't use or need (just one room of same).<br /><br />Today they had gardening stuff. Not really my cup of tea, but I had a look none the less since I was there. I could not believe my eyes. They had, for the meagre price of €5.99, <span style="font-style:italic;">Zinc Plant Pots</span>.<br /><br />The description from their sheet and web site reads as follows<br /><blockquote> <br />Zinc Plant Pot<br /><br /> * 12L rustic style plant pot with wooden hand grip<br /> * Size: Ø 29cm, height 25.5cm<br /> * Price per item</blockquote><br /><br />To me, a gardening dunce, it looked like a bucket. I had to ask my more experienced better half what she thought it was.<br /><br />"Bucket" she replied.<br /><br />"'Tis not", I chortled, "'tis a Zinc Plant Pot!"<br /><br />"It's a bucket", she retorted, "There's even a great big label on the side saying bucket".<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxX_soLskWQBG_55BjpFprEpxLrUACpmtWXqjGchFOz-1Za9YpthYNXjLX5ELJlr17IxKWTPXTVQ0BWjL3bMHC1rSOiatyMaIJIcEcMsa_ZJRy8KND-VXtMjrCaPlmUZqnlm1NwsV6u3-K/s1600-h/lidl+flower+pot.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxX_soLskWQBG_55BjpFprEpxLrUACpmtWXqjGchFOz-1Za9YpthYNXjLX5ELJlr17IxKWTPXTVQ0BWjL3bMHC1rSOiatyMaIJIcEcMsa_ZJRy8KND-VXtMjrCaPlmUZqnlm1NwsV6u3-K/s400/lidl+flower+pot.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5172180398458716850" /></a><br /><br />There was.<br /><br />Marketing say <span style="font-style:italic;">Plant Pot</span>, everyone says <span style="font-style:italic;">Bucket</span>....5h4mr0(khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13769440361897282782noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8137508877519445011.post-81230638193669807682008-02-26T21:16:00.006+00:002008-02-26T22:50:36.728+00:00Setanta Sports Not So NewsWhile recently trying to find out the latest score in a soccer match I had the great idea of checking it on <span style="font-style:italic;">Setanta Sports News</span>. If you haven't had the pleasure of seeing the channel, I'll try and describe it. It's one of those news channels which try to fit as much information as they can on the screen at one time. A combination of news tickers, vidi-printer, league tables, and the bit of screen that's left is used to switch between the presenter and score updates.<br /><br />While waiting for an age for the latest score from the Champions league games, I was being bombarded with the latest scores from reserve games of the lower leagues. The score ticker then switched to the Scottish Premier league, which had one game in progress. At the same time, the ever excited and enthusiastic host gave some insightful and informed information to the same game while the latest score was flashed onto the screen.<br /><br />You have to wonder where they get their latest scores from....<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheRoFmzqY-XjrBtyeM_pUjtwqfgMDOFMNiWufPchQDn3PWHXHH8oMuiGZBJN0FuLQHLL93dTOeXTgpuom91F4Uk-DsFkeCKqtLdiOXa8yvZwsEPANx4AG88bT0tNzmQf_iNhZ10UksBDjn/s1600-h/DSC00396.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheRoFmzqY-XjrBtyeM_pUjtwqfgMDOFMNiWufPchQDn3PWHXHH8oMuiGZBJN0FuLQHLL93dTOeXTgpuom91F4Uk-DsFkeCKqtLdiOXa8yvZwsEPANx4AG88bT0tNzmQf_iNhZ10UksBDjn/s400/DSC00396.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5171422444105155234" /></a>5h4mr0(khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13769440361897282782noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8137508877519445011.post-41902427118727357792008-02-09T22:47:00.000+00:002008-02-09T22:53:28.761+00:00New OriginalOf course it's a silly title for a blog, and it makes no sense whatsoever but I didn't make it up!<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyHJCuVGttCIKlh6rWQ4mTm0qlBwI88opktvJH61UpDdNO6aVOBeca4AMxIqhWyrE7kOKVob-78gSpfeKkJvvj9aSF9eG2pg7LNYAhAQeZVh91iSgIiutMGklLRjjP_GrdAu4elhMQuJuz/s1600-h/DSC00336.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyHJCuVGttCIKlh6rWQ4mTm0qlBwI88opktvJH61UpDdNO6aVOBeca4AMxIqhWyrE7kOKVob-78gSpfeKkJvvj9aSF9eG2pg7LNYAhAQeZVh91iSgIiutMGklLRjjP_GrdAu4elhMQuJuz/s400/DSC00336.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5165116315423130258" /></a><br />Shouldn't it have to be old for a while before you'd claim it as original?!5h4mr0(khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13769440361897282782noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8137508877519445011.post-1046458992536463332007-11-30T14:36:00.000+00:002007-11-30T15:23:59.507+00:00Breaking Up Is Hard To DoDuring the summer there was a promotion where you could get Setanta Sports free for two months. Sounded like my type of deal, so I took advantage of it and signed up. The deal was you got the entire package of channels for August and September. It coincided with the start of the new season of the Premier League, and the rugby world cup so there was plenty to watch. They took my details, enabled the channels and said someone will give me a call near the end of the two months to see if I want to sign up for longer.<br /><br />Two months later, while watching the Ireland v France rugby game, I get a call from them! In the middle of the game. I quickly told them it was a bad time i.e. I'M WATCHING THE GAME! What type of sales person would call to sell their sports package at the same time as you're watching one of the key games they were showing?!<br /><br />A few days later, someone called again at a less sensitive time. They asked me what I thought of the service and would I like to sign up. I was honest with him and said I hadn't watched it much over the two months. I'd seen a few rugby matches but maybe only two soccer games. I just didn't have the time since many of the games they show are at 3pm on Saturday. So I said I wasn't going to pay €18 a month for channels that I wouldn't be watching.<br /><br />The guy said that since I was already with them, he could give them to me for €9 a month for 3 months. I thought about it and hummed and hawed, all the time he was being a bit pushy, almost Mrs. Doyle type, saying "You know you want it" "It's only €9" go on go on go on. I caved in and signed up. Sure it's only €9, and I'll have the games around Christmas.<br /><br />He told me if I wanted to cancel at any time, just call. You also had to give a months notice. <br /><br />Two of the three months has gone by, and I noticed in my diary that I had a note to call and cancel. So I called yesterday.<br /><br />I got through to customer service. The guy asks some questions to confirm who I was, and then updated my details before asking me how could he help me.<br /><br />"I want to cancel my subscription"<br />"Why do you want to do that"<br />"'Cos I don't watch it enough, and I'm not going to pay €18 a month for something that I'm not going to watch"<br />"Ok. I'll have to put you through to an accounts manager to have you disconnected. You'll have to give him this reference number"<br /><br />So he gave me a number and then asked did I have the phone number, if I wanted to call them again. I was wondering why I'd want to call again but anyway...<br /><br />"Yes. It's 0818 20 30 40"<br />"No" says he. "It's..." and proceeds to give me the UK number. I interrupted him and told him I was in Ireland.<br /><br />"Of course you are. Sorry. The number is 0818 20 30 40!<br />...<br />"That's the number you just gave me. Sorry"<br /><br />Then he transferred me.<br /><br />The new guy asked for my number. I said that I wanted to disconnect and I was giving my months notice and that I had a reference number. I read out the number.<br /><br />"Sorry what was the number? I couldn't hear it. You're breaking up."<br />I repeated it.<br />"No. Sorry. Can't hear it"<br />I repeated it.<br />"No. Sorry. It's very bad"<br />I read out the first couple of letters<br />"Yeah."<br />I read the next couple<br />"No. Sorry. You're breaking up"<br /><br />My end of the line was fine. I could hear the guys around him perfectly well as they talk with enthusiasm about who would get the Scottish managers job. I was starting to see why I might want to call back...<br /><br />"Can you hear me now?"<br />"Yes that's much better"<br /><br />I was a wonder how well it improved considering I didn't do anything (since I was calling from my desk phone)<br />I repeated the number and he managed to hear it all! Wonder of wonders.<br />He proceeded to ask me some questions to confirm who I was. This was followed by<br />"Why do you want to disconnect?"<br />"I don't watch it enough and I can't justify paying €18 a month for something I don't watch"<br />"Do you know what you get for €18 a month?!" he said with great bravado.<br />"Yes. The same channels that I'm not watching for €9 a month"<br />"Why don't you watch them?"<br />"I don't have the time"<br />"Why don't you have time?"<br />"Because I have a life"<br />I think that the line must have mysteriously gone bad again because he replied<br />"Is it work?"<br />I wonder if he use to work with the Samaritans or some other counselling service.<br />"Yeah" I told him. Anything at this stage to get him to disconnect me.<br /><br />Then finally he agree to disconnect me in 30 days time.<br /><br />Phew.<br /><br />As a friend of mine said after <br />"People who think nothing is impossible have never tried to cancel a Readers Digest subscription".5h4mr0(khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13769440361897282782noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8137508877519445011.post-53133980463848567932007-11-30T14:31:00.000+00:002007-11-30T14:36:09.521+00:00Wii FitThe Wii Fit has been released in Japan. It'll be some months until it's available in this neck of the woods, unless you want to buy it the Japanese version (and have a Japanese Wii to play it on). If you do then it's currently available from <a href="http://www.play-asia.com/paOS-13-71-z3-49-en-70-2c81.html">Play-Asia</a>. About €130.5h4mr0(khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13769440361897282782noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8137508877519445011.post-4651620528812209682007-11-20T00:40:00.000+00:002007-11-20T00:49:37.952+00:00More Soaps in Your EyesSo you don't want to remodel the entire bathroom just so that you can <a href="http://inanerambings.blogspot.com/2007/10/soap-in-your-eyes.html">watch TV while having a shower</a>, and you're more of a bath person anyway. Or you can afford to stay in hotels which have television sets in the bathroom. Or there's nothing you like more than watching your soaps while white water rafting....<br /><br />Never fear - those fine people at Sanyo have just the thing for you. A waterproof LCD portable LCD television.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.i4u.com/images/2007/sanyo-lvt-wd40.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px;" src="http://www.i4u.com/images/2007/sanyo-lvt-wd40.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />The battery goes for 7 hours on a charge - you should be good and wrinkly by then!<br /><br />It's available, in Japan from November 21st - just in time for Christmas. More information from <a href="http://www.i4u.com/article12928.html">I4U</a>.5h4mr0(khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13769440361897282782noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8137508877519445011.post-60987708167418785882007-11-12T09:46:00.000+00:002007-11-12T09:58:55.373+00:00Red Means HotWhat do you get for your bathroom that has everything - coloured water of course.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.thinkgeek.com/homeoffice/gear/8122/?cpg=cj">Here's</a> a little gadget for lighting up the water coming from the tap (faucet). It will normally light it up in blue, but once the temperature hits 32C (89F) it goes red.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.thinkgeek.com/images/products/front/faucet_light_3.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px;" src="http://www.thinkgeek.com/images/products/front/faucet_light_3.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />Perfect for those late night trips to the bathroom. Even better for teaching kids that the water is too hot for them. $20 to possibly prevent a nasty scalding - how could you not buy it?<br /><br />Now if only they made them for taps outside of the US.5h4mr0(khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13769440361897282782noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8137508877519445011.post-91973728422763207572007-11-10T22:16:00.000+00:002007-11-10T22:26:48.489+00:00The Coolest CoolerThe perfect device for Santa to get around to check on who's being naughty or nice.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://s7ondemand1.scene7.com/is/image/Hammacher/74747?wid=180"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px;" src="http://s7ondemand1.scene7.com/is/image/Hammacher/74747?wid=180" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />It only does 14mph/24kph, and he may need the optional back rest.<br /><br />Look closely and you'll see that it also has a cup holder. 24 cans on the inside and one in the holder.<br /><br />If you want one you can buy them from <a href="http://www.hammacher.com/publish/74747.asp?source=CJ&cm_mmc=CJ-_-300096-_-302390-_-Hammacher+Product+Catalog#">here</a>5h4mr0(khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13769440361897282782noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8137508877519445011.post-61715579484875660632007-11-08T22:27:00.000+00:002007-11-09T10:18:25.416+00:00It's Official - He's Normal!In case you haven't heard, Michael Jackson, formally known as <span style="font-style: italic;">Wacko-Jacko</span>, has given his first real interview for ten years. <span style="font-style: italic;">Ebony</span> magazine has the scoop. (For those who don't know the magazine, their goal <span style="font-style:italic;">is to provide a unique and engaging forum to explore the impact of the world on African Americans and the impact of African Americans on the world.</span>)<br /><br />The executive summary consists of mostly two points.<br /><br />1) He is, apparently, normal. Hard to believe, but there it is.<br /><br />2) His peaches and cream complexion is the whitest to ever grace the cover of the magazine.<br /><br />Find out more from the <a href="http://www.ebonyjet.com/ebony/">Ebony</a> web site<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.ebonyjet.com/uploadedImages/EbonyJetcom/Magazines/EBONY/1207_Cover.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px;" src="http://www.ebonyjet.com/uploadedImages/EbonyJetcom/Magazines/EBONY/1207_Cover.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>5h4mr0(khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13769440361897282782noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8137508877519445011.post-70915267671023916442007-11-02T13:59:00.001+00:002007-11-02T14:04:48.286+00:00What could you make with....What could you make with some second-hand aluminium (from a crashed 747), an engine from an old Honda Civic, and some seats from an old Toyota?<br /><br />Have a look <a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/nigeriahelicopteroffbeat;_ylt=AsIVmuqaLsBZ9aRS3syKSG0DW7oF">here</a> for one guys entry.5h4mr0(khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13769440361897282782noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8137508877519445011.post-70380144031924740802007-10-31T16:04:00.000+00:002007-10-31T16:10:55.411+00:00Halloween PoliceI caught a piece of a topical discussion program today on Clare FM. I gather they had been discussing illegal bonfires and fireworks. The caller that I had heard had the novel idea that since banning the bonfires and fireworks hasn't made them go away, that those in charge should "<span style="font-style:italic;">Ban Halloween</span>".<br /><br />I can just see it now. Kids bobbing for apples behind darkened windows. Police on the look out for illegal pumpkins.<br /><br />Trick or treating in disguise!5h4mr0(khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13769440361897282782noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8137508877519445011.post-69167166853095777502007-10-31T09:46:00.000+00:002007-10-31T10:05:09.841+00:00Wireless Photo UploadingIf you're one of those people that just can't wait to upload your photos for the world and your family to see, and your camera takes SD memory, then <span style="font-style:italic;"><a href="http://www.eye.fi/">Eye-fi</a></span> might just have the memory for your memorys.<br /><br />It's a 2GB SD card with a built in wireless card. You first connect it, via it's own card reader, to your PC, and configure where you want it to upload the photos. It can upload to your PC, or to a website such as Flickr or Picasa.<br /><br />Once that's done, pop the card into your camera and start shooting. When the camera is in range of your wireless network the card will upload the photos. No need for any cables or card readers - and if you're not saving to the PC, no need for that to be on either.<br /><br />A great little idea which is sure to make life a little easier. It should also massively increase the amount of <span style="font-style:italic;">poor quality, badly focused, red-eyed photos which really should have been deleted</span> photos on the internet. There'll probably be a lot of ones which accidentally get past the censor as well.<br /><br />Too bad it's only usable in the U.S. at the moment5h4mr0(khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13769440361897282782noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8137508877519445011.post-74853707631703025842007-10-19T10:12:00.000+01:002007-10-19T14:15:20.706+01:00Not tonight, I'm washing my keyboardThis should be a requirement for all keyboards and mice - they should be dishwasher safe. It's a great idea. I read it first <a href="http://www.i4u.com/article12241.html">here </a>and if you want to buy one check out the <a href="http://www.sealshield.com/silverseal.htm">maker</a>.<br /><br />They were originally designed for the medical professions where several people are using the one PC. Nasty germ gathering potential there. So thinking of nasty germ gathering, they'd be idea for any family with young kids that love banging on the keyboard while eating toast. Of course that will usually mean banging the keyboard WITH the toast (while watching the Hippo and the Dog singing "T<a href="http://youtube.com/watch?v=WHWjNMhdY0I">he Lion Sleeps Tonight</a>").5h4mr0(khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13769440361897282782noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8137508877519445011.post-27255947048759817672007-10-15T12:19:00.000+01:002007-10-15T12:45:41.207+01:00Bah HumbugI'm already fed up with Christmas, and the clocks haven't changed yet. I'm all for consumerism but give me a break. Some stores are still selling off their summer clothes and yet they have already started putting out their Christmas stuff. I'm well aware of global warming but I don't think Ireland has turned into Australia. It's just not right!<br /><br />The Christmas stuff is just popping up all over the place. The Better Half spotted a large Santa, hiding behind some vampires and witches in the local SuperValu on Thursday. It was followed by noticing the shopping centre has their Christmas lights up. "At least they're not on yet" I commented to the Better Half as we covered from our initial shock of seeing them.<br /><br />"It's not dark yet" she replied.<br /><br />Where will it all end? Why do they bother even taking them down anymore? They should just do like in <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/%7Er/HeadRambles/%7E3/170061420/">Grandad's village</a> (he just lives there, he doesn't own it.)<br /><br />While on a brief visit to Atlantic I noticed that they had their Christmas stuff on display. The Better Half pointed out that it was roped off so that you couldn't buy it. I can only guess that's to prevent the rush of shoppers trying to get the best looking artificial trees.5h4mr0(khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13769440361897282782noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8137508877519445011.post-29214151179618260442007-10-11T12:09:00.000+01:002007-10-11T12:17:35.032+01:00Fit UpdateSome time ago I mentioned a new device/controller for the Nintendo Wii, called the <a href="http://inanerambings.blogspot.com/2007/07/one-size-wii-fits-all.html">Wii fit</a>.<br />Good news is that Nintendo have now announced that it will be on sale from December. More good news is that the price is about €53. Bad news is that they've only announced the date for Japan. No news for the rest of the world yet.<br /><br />More info from <a href="http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2007/10/10/wii_fit_balance_board/">here</a>.5h4mr0(khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13769440361897282782noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8137508877519445011.post-47857778940936364632007-10-09T09:51:00.001+01:002007-10-09T09:55:49.556+01:00Nomination for a Darwin awardIf you're going to work with electric cables make sure you have a a phase tester. <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughNews/idUSL0824316120071008?feedType=RSS&feedName=oddlyEnoughNews">This guy hadn't</a>. Mind you I don't know where you'd get one that can handle 10,000 volts.<br />Shocking.5h4mr0(khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13769440361897282782noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8137508877519445011.post-28159511166836803432007-10-05T09:59:00.000+01:002007-11-12T09:57:44.377+00:00Soaps in your eyesI like gadgets. (I might have said that before.) But even I know when to say enough is enough.<br /><br />While having a slight fix of gadget related reading, I read <a href="http://www.automatedhome.co.uk/New-Products/Cheaper-Bathroom-TV.html">this</a> about a TV for the bathroom. It seems specifically designed for use in the shower. Putting aside the fact that you would probably have to remodel, or at least re-tile the bathroom so that you could run the cables for the TV, I just find myself asking why?!<br /><br />Why would anyone want to watch TV while having a shower? What is so important that you couldn't afford to miss it while cleaning yourself? How much of it can you really watch while water and shampoo cascade down and get in your eyes? Will people that wear glasses have to keep them on in the shower.<br /><br />It comes with a remote control!!! WHY?!<br /><br />Answers on a postcard, or to the comment field...5h4mr0(khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13769440361897282782noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8137508877519445011.post-82059482106979550452007-10-02T11:40:00.000+01:002007-10-02T12:23:35.221+01:00When is a metre not a metre?I recently purchased a new watch. My previous one has seen 12+ years of active service and was starting to have a couple of problems. The previous watch is water resistant for 50 metres, but the new one is water resistant to 100 metres. This wasn't a feature that I was looking for on either watch, but it's handy to know that you don't have to worry about it getting wet during the course of a normal day.<br /><br />It is a feature that I've wondered about. Who needs a watch that will work in 50m of water? Nevermind 100m - or 200m or even 1000m. Just to put it in context, most swimming pools might have a deep end of 2m or 3m. A diving pool with a 10m board might be up to 5m deep. The Royal Navy in the UK have a <a href="http://www.horseadivecentre.com/sett-about.htm">tower</a> for practising escaping from submarines. This allows them to do 30m ascents. The world record for <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free-diving">free diving</a> is 214m!<br /><br />I was on the Seiko web site, and while perusing their FAQ I found this useful information about <a href="http://www.seiko.ie/faq.asp#Q4">water resistance</a> in watches. Basically, a watch which is resistant at 50m is only resistant at 50m if it's not moving. The watch should be static and the water should be static. If either of them is moving then the pressure is different and there could be leakage.<br /><blockquote>Q: What exactly does the water resistance description on my watch mean?<br /><br />A: The Water resistance relates to pressure as measured in the equivalent of a static tank of water at a given depth under water. But please note, the faster an object is moved in or against water, the greater the pressure on the watch. For that reason, a watch that is water resistant <br />to 30 metres may leak if exposed to water coming forcefully from a tap, or worn whilst viourously swimming or diving, as the increased pressure may exceed the designed resistance.</blockquote><br /><br />So according to them, your cool watch which is good to 30m (the same distance as you might escape from a submarine, as you do), mightn't last washing the dishes if you have the tap on too high.5h4mr0(khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13769440361897282782noreply@blogger.com0