England Away

Car trouble part 2

2005-04-19T23:52:00.000+01:00

As I said a couple of weeks ago, one of my cars has no NCT disc and an expired tax disc. It is apparently illegal to drive a car without valid discs. When I was getting the Volvo NCT tested about 2 weeks ago I saw a sign that said you could get fined 1500 euro by the Gards for not displaying an NCT disc. Anyway, today I am driving the Volvo down the back roads of County Kildare when we (my wife and I) get stopped by, not one, but 2 f****ing Gard roadblocks. WTF - Is it national roadblock day? The first roadblock was a proper one - both sides of the road job, about 4 Gards. I could see them pulling people over to the side of the road. I saw one Gard go and lift the windscreen wiper of a car so he could see the discs better. He wouldn't have to do that with me because I my discs are in plain sight. At least they would be IF I F***ING HAD ANY THAT WERE VALID. So, he stops me, looks at my discs and waves me on. I even give him a wave that says ' all is well here officer, good to see you doing your job'. At the second roadblock the Gard actually walked over to the side of the car with the discs on and had a good look before waving me on. I was even winding my window down in preparation for some serious ass-kissing.
The good news is that even though the Volvo failed the NCT when I took it 2 weeks ago, it only needs a couple of bulbs replacing. It's getting serviced on Friday and will be sorted then. It doesn't even need a full re-test. After that I can get the road tax, be fully legal and stop shitting my pants every time I see a roadblock.

Slan Agat.

Irony...

2005-04-14T01:23:00.000+01:00

As you get older you find it easier to deal with women...you look better, I think, more self-assured, confident, depth of experience, financially secure (hopefully), but, you're already married, so it's wasted. Maybe I can take it with me to the next life....

Link added to my photoblog: County Kildare views

2005-04-11T01:05:00.000+01:00

Bouncy castle in full swing.

The party's over...

2005-04-11T00:47:00.000+01:00

Thank God....30 small children descended on our house yesterday like a plague of locusts, invading every room of the house and opening everything, including the presents they had brought for my son. They ate, they drank, they bounced on the castle, they demanded drink and more drink. One of them was sick (only one - a bonus), but thankfully not on the castle. My youngest son (3 in august) had a fine old time. He seemed to take the invasion of his house in his stride and wasn't bothered at all. That was the hardest 2 hours I've had to endure in a while and I can safely say that there won't be any house parties for a while. Another bonus: no parents stayed behind so we now have a house full of booze.

Poetic moment:

Winter, slumbering in the open air
wears on his smiling face
a dream of spring

That is a quote from 'Groundhog Day', one of my favourite films. Watched it again the other day for about the umpteenth time.

Busy....

2005-04-08T00:34:00.000+01:00

busy trying to sort things out for eldest son's party (he will be 7) on saturday. Went straight from work to Tesco and Dunnes to buy loads of alcohol. Not for the kids, obviously. A lot of children from the street will be coming, so their parents will drop them off. Drink seems to be offered at any social situation - it is a given, there is no option. You have to offer it and have it available, it is the polite thing to do. It's the same when you go round to someone's house - you have to have a drink, it's impolite not to, not that they give you any option: 'Ah go on, have a drink, you will, you will, go on.' An opened bottle is then thrust into your hands. When the bottle is about a third full another full one is given out. The house will be cleaned tomorrow and then the bouncy castle arrives on saturday morning, ready for the party in the afternoon.

Below are some links to an Irish site called 'Langerland'. They do some very funny flash animations. The latest one is having a go at the english.

Dail reshuffle

Batman and Robin

British top 10

2005-04-05T22:11:00.000+01:00

What they are really saying. Six weeks wages....£230,000...it beggars belief.

Car trouble

2005-04-04T21:40:00.000+01:00

Not mechanical trouble, more of a driving-while-not-strictly-legal problem.

Let me set the scene.

In Ireland cars should display 3 things in the windscreen - a road tax disc, an insurance disc and an NCT disc (NCT stands for National Car Test, which is equivalent to the english MOT). I have 2 cars over here, a Ford and a Volvo. The Ford has all 3 discs and they are all in date. The Volvo only has 2 discs - insurance and tax, and only the insurance is in date. You can only renew road tax when you have a current NCT certificate. The NCT is booked for next week, so I can't get taxed until after then at the earliest.

You see my problem. It is a problem of my own making, so I can't complain too much. When I brought the cars over from the UK (wading through levels of bureaucracy you would not believe) I got the Ford sorted out, but somehow forgot the Volvo i.e. couldn't be arsed. The fact that I never saw any Gardai (police) on the roads only encouraged me to delay it. I'm only doing the NCT now because I have to renew the tax.

Anyway, to the point of this post. This morning I was just entering a slip road to join the N7, going round a corner. When the road straightened out what do I see? A Gard doing spot-checks. I thought the jig was up and was winding the window down to start grovelling when he just waved me through. He was holding a clipboard and only looked at my number plate, so I guess he was looking for something specific. I nearly crapped my pants though.

When I was coming back from the airport about 4 weeks ago, I was stopped by some Gards (they're fond of checkpoints over here) who did check all my discs, but luckily I was in the Ford.....just as well.

Ever more sporadic

2005-04-04T18:17:00.000+01:00

I am finding that I enjoy reading blogs more than I enjoy writing one. That is not good, is it? I think of things during the day, but when it comes to the evening I am usually too tired or have forgotten what I was going to say. I also enjoy playing games on the PC more than writing. It doesn't help when Blogger deletes your post when you try and send it. I am thinking about either turning this into more of a photoblog, or starting a photoblog from scratch and updating this occassionally. I have to be able to maintain my own level of interest if this is to continue (deep down I want it to).

Aaaannnyway, the death of the Pope doesn't seem to have had the impact over here that I thought it would have. The local catholic church is flying the Vatican flag at half-mast and that is about it. But then again, I don't know what I expected them to do. I will see what happens on his funeral (the day before my son's birthday party).

I was working nights this friday, saturday and sunday. I finished at 07:00 this morning (monday) and was in bed at 08:30. Unfortunately I was woken at 10:30 so that I could take the wife to a hospital in Dublin. So, effectively, I have been awake since 16:00 on sunday, with only 2 hours sleep. I will not sleep agan until I go to bed tonight.

I will post again tonight. I have something to say. I will remember it.

2005-03-30T01:03:00.000+01:00

Lighthouse
Posted by Hello

2005-03-30T01:01:00.000+01:00

Coast
Posted by Hello

2005-03-30T01:00:00.000+01:00

Plaque
Posted by Hello

2005-03-30T00:59:00.000+01:00

Curragh trees
Posted by Hello

2005-03-30T00:56:00.000+01:00

pots
Posted by Hello

2005-03-30T00:54:00.000+01:00

harbour steps
Posted by Hello

2005-03-30T00:33:00.000+01:00

Easter weekend
Posted by Hello

I am a twat - official

2005-03-26T22:28:00.000Z

....a newbie twat, apparently. I was wondering why my post was appearing in the list on the dashboard, but not on the actual web page, even after 24 hours. It turns out that my browser was just looking at the cached page, not the 'live' one. Oh, how I laughed.

I was going to do the world's best post, but now I am too errrr.....'refreshed' and tired. I have been walking around the Blanchardstown shopping centre in Dublin for most of the day. I went to see 'Robots' with eldest son while the wife went and seemingly cleared Roches Stores and Penneys of all their stock, with youngest son. Anyway, the film was good, but only if you're with a youngish child. I wouldn't recommend an adult watching it by themself. No matter how dire the film is, I always try and say that I enjoyed it. I don't want him to think that I'm there under sufferance. I remember my dad had to take me to some pretty awful films in his time (Popeye springs to mind) and he used to moan about them. That used to spoil my enjoyment of it somehow. He didn't get to watch 'Shrek' though, so I can forgive him.

It's good to visit 'the big shmoke' every now and again, but I think I'm becoming allergic to cities and built-up areas. I felt the same in London 2 weeks ago - full report still to follow.

Goodnight.

Testing, testing

2005-03-26T20:42:00.000Z

I wrote a post yesterday that won't post - will this??

Back with a rant

2005-03-25T16:49:00.000Z

Good grief

I'm back and have been back since the 13th, but I've been hit by the apathy stick. I have been reading lots of other blogs, so that counts....right? Anyway, what's the story with Mick in the UK? There has been no post since the 25th of February - is he away or just having a break? I hope he hasn't gone the way of Haddocktwat and Call Centre Confidential. I wonder if the Islamic Jihad have caught up with him and he is being turned into halal sausages even as I write this.
The story above was in the Daily Mail earlier this week and I just had to say something about it, because I know Mick would. This is wrong on so many levels it is just not true. First off, an ASBO is an Anti-Social Binding Order. These are relatively new in the UK, but are becoming more common. They are normally implemented when you have people in a street causing trouble with their neighbours etc. In this case though, one has been used because some Muslims objected to the image of the pig on the pub sign, when they had to walk past it. It is a picture of a pig, not a very good one either. It's not like it was a picture of a Muslim eating a pig - that would be offensive. What do they do when they see pictures of pigs somewhere else? Do they want all references to pigs removed from everywhere? Next thing, they will want supermarkets to stop selling pork products, as they find that offensive. This is the thin end of a very large wedge and has set a dangerous precedent. The people who decided it should be an ASBO should get a f***ing life and the Muslims should have been told to shut their f***ing eyes when they walk past or go another way.

Rant over. I feel better now.

England Away.........away, again

2005-03-09T21:37:00.000Z

England Away is going away again......to England.....errrr....Anyway, back to the motherland for 3 days, no wife, no kids. Yes, a 3 day pass in London with only myself to worry about. Fan-tastic. Don't worry, I will only be visiting cultural places like this and this.
It won't be all museums and art galleries; I am planning to meet up with some of my ex-work colleagues. The last time I saw some of them was 2 years ago, nearly, the day I was escorted off the premises (not my fault, honest - will be the subject of a very long and bitter post one day). It will be strange seeing them again, as a lot has happened since then.

I'm too excited to write. One more day at work and then it's off to the airport.

Full report to follow.

Bonus post

2005-03-05T00:48:00.000Z

Of course, it's only a bonus if you actually read this drivel.
Anyway, I am supposed to be at work tonight, but had to come home early due to my youngest son being ill. So, here I am, instead of sitting by his bedside I'm writing this. What kind of father am I? I did check up on him when I came home - he was fast asleep. I will have to stay awake until at least 3-4 am so that I will sleep long enough in preparation for working again tonight.

I am thinking of buying a new digital camera. I say this in the remote hope that someone: a - reads this, and b - has an opinion. My current camera is a Sony Cybershot DSC-P50, 2.1 megapixels (MP). It is about the size of half a housebrick. It has served me well for a few years, but I am starting to feel the need to upgrade. I am going away in the summer and am planning to take a lot of photos, plus it is a kind of a 'holiday of a lifetime' thing, so that is my justification. Hey, I'm a young-ish male, addicted to shiny gadgets and I need a new fix - what other reason do I need? The Sony will be given to my 6 year-old son. He has used it quite a lot under my supervision, but I am not too certain of it's life expectancy when he becomes the full-time owner.
The cameras I am looking at, at the moment are:
1. Fujifilm S7000
2. Nikon 5700
3. Canon G6
4. Olympus C-8080
I am not too sure about the Nikon, though, as it was reviewed in October 2002 and has 'only' 5.0 MP. I know I am going to drive myself mad trying to make a decision and I will probably choose none of them. I am going to England soon, so I hope to get one then, as it will be cheaper than Ireland.

This is probably old news to everyone except me, but apparently there are a lot of video cameras around the world that have an internet connection, that is unsecured i.e. if you know the address of the camera you can see what it is looking at and, in some cases, take control of it. Being a total, shameless voyeur I had to investigate this and found a load of links. There is something a little surreal in thinking that the camera in your local shop might be connected to the internet and there is someone behind it watching you. Likewise, its a little surreal watching someone go about their business in a shop, oblivious to the fact that their actions are being broadcast to the internet.

Shop
Baitshop
American town
American house somewhere near I-25
Melboune live view
Links
More links

They should all be shot.....

2005-03-03T22:37:00.000Z

No, not Islamists or Christian fundamentalists, but bands/groups who feel the need to put out their own version of a perectly good song, murdering it in the process. I was in McDonalds the other day when I heard a version of 'Sweet Child of Mine' (I think) by Guns 'n' Roses, being performed by a female group. I have nothing against girl bands, but why don't they stick to their anaemic love-song-by-numbers instead of butchering other peoples songs? Their interpretation added nothing to the original. This made me remember that about a week ago I read that another group called G4 (all-male classical singers) have done a version of Radiohead's 'Creep'. That song is a classic, nevermind that Radiohead have 'disowned' it, according to the article. I pray that I don't hear this song; it will make me cry....for the wrong reasons.
All this made me recall the time I heard 'Take That' do a version of a Nirvana song (it was a live recording being played on the radio. This was about the same time that 'The Flying Pickets' (an acapella (??) ensemble) were doing their own version of a Nirvana song. I could not believe what I was hearing....truly, truly awful.

Rugby etc.

2005-02-27T15:07:00.000Z

I am writing this as England play against Ireland in the 6 Nations. Needless to say, if Ireland win I won't be going to work tomorrow. It's bad enough when they lose to somebody else, never mind the Irish.

Last night, for the first time in.....years, must be, the wife and I went out for a meal without the kids. A grown-up meal in a grown-up restaurant. No crayons and colouring-in sheets on the table. No large, wacky menus with 'Kidz mealz' on. No screaming and carrying-on, with one eye on the kids and one on your meal. I had grilled sea bass. It was great.
The neighbour next door baby-sat for us. They have children as well, so we will be looking after theirs next. It's a small price to pay if it means we can go out regularly.

Late last week I found out that another film is being made from a Philip K Dick book - A Scanner Darkly. I have read a lot of his books and short stories, but this is one my favourites. It is also one that can be easily converted to a contemporary setting, as the subject matter is drug-related and the main character is an undercover narcotics officer. One of the themes is to do with identity (this theme crops up in a lot of his work). The narcotics officer starts spying on himself, because the drug he has to take to make him fit in causes a split in his brain, and so he forgets that the person he's watching on the secret observation tapes is in fact himself. It is all very strange. I hope the film-makers do the book justice and don't dumb it down. I recommend that you read the book before seeing the film.
The actors in the film are: Keanu Reeves, Winona Ryder, Woody Harrelson and Robert Downey Jr, so it looks promising.

My favourite PKD film would have to be 'Bladerunner', Director's cut version (without that stupid narrative). I once watched this film while sitting on a hill at the Glastonbury festival. It was an outdoor cinema, so the screen seemed to merge with the dark. It looked as though the flying police cars were coming out of the screen. It was absolutely fantastic.

Style over substance

2005-02-22T20:45:00.000Z

Haloscan comments added at last
Photos added at last
Quote of the day added
Sitemeter added
New links added

What else can I frig around with? The template? Lets face it, it could do with it.

A turd in a suit is still a turd.

Comment below was added by Haloscan, by the way.
Haloscan commenting and trackback have been added to this blog.

Photographs

2005-02-21T22:50:00.000Z

Finally posted some photos. Came across this really useful program called Hello, which enables you to post photos directly from your PC to your Blog. They have some partnership or something with Google, so it's free. I found the link on the Blogger dashboard. I hope you enjoy them, I've only got about a thousand more.

Hunter S Thompson - RIP

2005-02-21T22:49:00.000Z

This was the view from our cabin, when we went to Glenmalure, about 2 weeks ago.
Posted by Hello

2005-02-21T22:46:00.000Z

The lower lake, taken by my 6 year-old son.
Posted by Hello

2005-02-21T22:39:00.000Z

Looking towards the upper lake at Glendalough, from the graveyard.
Posted by Hello

2005-02-21T22:36:00.000Z

The tower at Glendalough, 1000 years old, built by the monks that first lived there. You can't go up it unfortunately.
Posted by Hello

Ramble

2005-02-21T05:30:00.000Z

I have not long finished work for the weekend, 36 hours of unmitigated, mindnumbing, make-you-lose-the-will-to-live tedium. I love my job really. Well, the money. Nothing really specific to say, I had a vague memory of something I was going to post about, but that was at 06:00 this morning, before 12 hours of work and 2 cans of beer. I do have some links to share, that you may or may not find interesting (I don't know who the f**k I'm talking to, by the way).

Windows Messenger has installed an update to itself without my permission (as part of a security update), but my firewall (Zonealarm) keeps popping-up to see if I want Messenger to act as a server. I keep clicking 'Deny' - fuck off you cheeky bastard. Maybe I'll put it out of it's misery tomorrow. Maybe.....

Road to hell update: the roadworks are progressing nicely. The Dublin-bound lanes of the N7 are now slightly restricted due to the works going on to the side. They are ripping up the earth in preparation for a new lane, it looks like. Traffic is not held up that much, despite the 60 KMH limit through the roadworks (yeah, right). It will be down to 1 lane soon enough and then the fun will begin.

The links I promised:

Some music
More music

Where I stayed last week

An interesting article about blogs

I looked at my Sitemaster stats and saw that someone went to my blog after doing a search for 'skanger' on Google.ie, in Gaelic. How bizarre.

I'm back.......hooray

2005-02-19T05:40:00.000Z

Yes, it's true, I'm back. I've actually been back all week, but have not really had the time to update this. The trip away was very good, but too short. The logcabin was on the edge of a valley with views down the length of it. Lots of time spent reading, chilling out, watching alternating sheets of rain and swathes of sunlight sweep down the valley. Long walks up the side of the mountain, through the forest where we're the only people there. Watching the tops of the mountains disappear in cloud, to re-appear covered in a dusting of snow. We'll be going back in the summer. Some photos to follow once I get a website sorted out.

We went to Dublin yesterday, just for a look around. We went here for lunch. If you ever come to Dublin, I heartily recommend it. It's cheaper than a lot of places and the food is really good.

I have a T-shirt with a picture of George Bush on and the word 'Langer' printed above him. My wife saw it and asked, 'what does Langer mean?' She obviously doesn't read my blog, thank god. I bought the shirt from here.

Top tip of the day: avoid papercuts under the fingernail. Too late for me, don't do it to yourself.

England Away, away

2005-02-11T06:20:00.000Z

A busy 2 weeks at work, but now I have a long weekend off and I am not at work again until tuesday night. Tomorrow, we are off to the Wicklow mountains, to stay in a log cabin. It should be interesting. We will be quite near Glendalough, which is very nice. It will be good to unwind and make the most of the peace and quiet. I will hopefully take lots of photos that I will endeavour to post.

The worst thing about being on normal days is the traffic - it has been a nightmare, even at 07:00 in the morning. It doesn't help that the N7 roadworks are starting to get serious. At least both lanes are still open at the moment. I dread to think what they'll be like when one lane shuts. Only a year and a half to go...

Quiz - the answers, like you care

2005-02-09T05:30:00.000Z

1. Langer - Twat. You can also be langered - see 9
2. Knacker/Creamer - Traveller, roadside caravan-dweller
3. Culchie - Person from the country/anybody not from Dublin
4. In bits - Not good
5. Kip - Shithole
6. Jacks - Toilets
7. Gargle - Drink (alcoholic)
8. Mott - Female acquintance
9. Locked - To be drunk/refreshed
10. Skanger - Irish chav

i.e. 'I went to this pub with the mott, it was a real kip. We had a gargle and I got locked. I went to the jacks and got in a fight with a knacker and a culchie. When I woke up I was in bits and some skanger was going through my pockets, so booted him, the langer.'

Here are some I forgot:

Give out - I didn't do what they wanted and they gave out to me
Stand up - get ready to fight

Pop quiz...

2005-02-05T06:15:00.000Z

Some Irish slang....what do they mean? Give answers in comments (if anyone's reading...). Answers in a couple of days.
No cheating...

1. Langer
2. Knacker/Creamer
3. Culchie
4. In bits
5. Kip
6. Jacks
7. Gargle
8. Mott
9. Locked
10. Skanger

Hypocrisy upon hypocrisy

2005-02-02T05:30:00.000Z

I was going to post about something relatively lighthearted in response to something that somebody said in a comment, but that was before I came home and the Daily Mail. I don't know why I read it, I really don't. To be fair it isn't really them, it's one of their readers in a letter. The letter writer is responding to the comment Mary McAleese (President of Ireland, doesn't really do anything) said about Protestants in the north teaching schoolchildren to hate catholics, 'like the Nazis'.
He goes on to say, 'She should remember that, although many of its citizens did, her country never took part in the fight for freedom of Europe. It just stood by.' Hmmm, perhaps he should consider the fact that Ireland only gained independence in 1922, just under 20 years before the start of the war. After decades of being under the British yoke it is no surprise that they didn't come rushing to help. Not to mention the fact that their economy was in no condition to support war effort.
Living over here, I can still see the effects the British had on the economy, the people and the landscape and we wonder why they dislike us so much.

Read this.

Stamp duty

2005-01-30T15:00:00.000Z

I've been reading a lot in the UK press (well, the Daily Mail) about people complaining about stamp duty rates in the UK. Stamp duty is the tax you pay to the government when you buy a house. In the UK 1% of the purchase price is paid from £60000 up to £250000. There is no fee if the house price is less than £60000. Of course, you can't even buy an old shed for less than that now. They are saying in the UK that the £60000 limit should be increased because it is stopping first-time buyers getting on the property ladder. They should move to Ireland and see what we have to pay over here. First time buyers pay nothing upto 317500 Euro, but then they pay 3% for anything over that. 317501 Euro is about £225000 and believe me, you don't get much for that over here now.
These are the new rates as well, brought in after the last budget. We were classed as first time buyers , but had to pay about 3.5% on a house purchase of 280000 Euro. You do the maths. I think they should raise the cut-off, but then increase the percentage.

Stamp Duty Rates for Owner Occupiers:

Aggregate Consideration	First Time Buyer	Owner Occupier

Up to €127,000	0%	0%

€127,001 - €190,500	0%	3%

€190,501 - €254,000	0%	4%

€254,001 - €317,500	0%	5%

€317,501 - €381,000	3%	6%

€381,001 - €635,000	6%	7.5%

Over €635,000	9%	9%

The tax man cometh....

2005-01-29T07:50:00.000Z

And he taketh away.....the bastard. For the last 2 days I have been going mad trying to get my UK tax return in. I spent half of the last tax year split between the UK and Ireland, so naturally the UK tax man wants his cut. I have had to pay £1500 which is a bit of a sickener, but cannot be avoided. The good news is that this is the last time I will have to fill out a return or pay out. It's quite significant as well, because this is the last thing that was tying me to England, the last tie to be severed. The online tax return I tried completing on the Inland Revenue website seemed to be deliberately obstructive, with very long load times and by crashing when I tried to pay online.
The last two nights I have been working. I finished this morning at 07:00, but didn't get to bed until 11:00 thanks to the tax business, and then I was up at 15:00. I now feel like one of the living dead. Next week I am supposed to be on days Mon, Tue and then on nights Fri, Sat, Sun. Luckily, they want me in on days all week to help out with paperwork, which I was all to happy to volunteer for. Anyway, the last two nights, when it was quiet, I was able to explore the blogging universe a bit more. There is certainly a great deal out there, covering everything. It has given me a few ideas, which I will try and use. Some more links will be appearing as well....hopefully their quality will rub-off on my blog. Some of their page designs and content make mine look the scratchings on a caveman's wall....

You dirty bitch...

2005-01-25T22:11:00.000Z

The car, not anybody else. This is another aspect of driving on Irish roads. Believe me, I could go on about them for a long time. We first came to Ireland on a preview trip organised by the company that was trying to get me to move over. We brought the car over so we could drive around and we were puzzled by the sight of all these filthy looking cars. We were thinking, 'Are all these Irish people lazy or something?' After a week of driving around our car looked the same as everybody else's. The mud dried on the outside of the car and even made its way inside as a fine dust. It took 2 washes to get clean when I got back to England.

Anyway, to the point of this post. Another aspect of life over here is that they still have people who will pump your petrol, wash your car for you and, in the pub, come to your table to take and deliver your drinks order. It's rather quaint and I still haven't got used to it. I don't mind having my drink delivered, but I can't get used to just sitting there while somebody fills my car with petrol. I know they probably get paid (a pittance probably), but I just don't feel that comfortable.
Today, at the car wash garage, I was asking for change for the carwash when I saw the carwash bloke putting on his gloves and then walking over to the carwash, to stand there waiting for me. Normally, I just pull straight up and get on with it before somebody has the chance to ask, but I couldn't really today. I pulled up in the car after turning it around and let him get on with it, but I did get out so I wasn't sitting there like Lord Twat (it was freezing outside). I also didn't know if it was normal to tip or not, so I didn't, especially as he didn't loiter like he was expecting one.
A lot of the people who do this kind of work are Eastern European, but that's another post.

Stopgap

2005-01-24T07:55:00.000Z

Not much to say. Too late, too tired. Just finished my long weekend at work (well, at 20:00). Just been watching a couple of episodes from series 1 of 'The Shield'. I only got into this late-on, but I am trying to catch up. Perhaps the UK and Irish police could adapt the Striketeam model of dealing with crime....sitting behind a desk isn't working anyway.

This is for balance for my post the other day....sometimes the car gets through and sometimes the car has more than children in it....I was trying to say 'Why are they still there, what are they doing there and why did they go in the first place?'. These questions haven't been answered and won't be, I think, for some time.

On a lighter note.....West Brom 2 - Man City 0. Not funny.

Where will it end...

2005-01-22T05:40:00.000Z

This little girl and her brothers and sisters were travelling in a car when it was shot at by American troops, killing their parents. Yes, they should have stopped at the road-block, but they were probably scared shitless. I cannot honestly see how Bush is going to solve the problems in Iraq....and now they want to go after Iran as well.

Well done, Mr Bush.

No TV!!!

2005-01-21T05:30:00.000Z

This is the reaction we get (more often than not from relatives) when we say that we have no TV. We do have a TV, well, 2 really, but it is only used for playing DVDs and videos on. The portable in the bedroom has a built-in DVD player, but also has an aerial that enables it to pick up all of 2 channels, one of which is a gaelic-speaking channel.

When we first moved to Ireland we rented a flat that had a version of cable TV, so that was fine. When we moved to the house, however, we discovered that the house didn't have an aerial. This is the case with all houses in Ireland, unless one has been put up by the owner. There is a cable junction box in the lounge, but this has to be activated when you move in and you pay about £15/month. So, we made the decision to go without TV for a while to see what it was like. That was in April 2003 and I can honestly say that we haven't missed it at all. It isn't until it has gone that you realise how much time you wasted watching it and how it ruled your life.

We get the odd fix when we visit relatives in the UK and it is then when we are asked, incredulously, what we do all evening, like there is no other choice but to watch the box. My brother-in-law has a 42" plasma and it is on from when he gets up to when he goes to bed, constantly channel flicking.

Free your life....get rid of the one-eyed monster.

Ooh, saucer of milk

2005-01-20T09:08:00.000Z

Reading the papers at work over the last couple of days I've seen some Irish models getting their thongs in a twist. Apparently, the head of the Ford model agency said that Irish models need to exercise more and stay off the beer if they want to work internationally. Naturally, the Irish models weren't too pleased with this statement and some of them said they would rather be the shape they are and stay in Ireland, than become 'skeletal' just so they can work abroad. Andrea Roche, an Irish model, said that the Irish are big boned. Errr, right. Personally, I agree that they shouldn't alter their body image just to conform with what is 'acceptable' for models to look like. I like the models who look more natural - I don't see many women who are as unnaturally thin as most catwalk models. It's a shame more models don't have this attitude.

It's snow fun at all

2005-01-18T10:30:00.000Z

Driving back from the airport with the wife and two kids we got caught in a heavy snow shower. Visibility was crap and the road was becoming treacherous. I was a bit worried, what with the trucks continuing to barrel past at speed.

The new speed signs have already started going up, so on the 'motorway' we can do 120 km/h, which is 75 mph. Typically, there is a mixture of old signs and new ones, so it is a little confusing. The roadworks have started as well on the N7, which is the major road to Dublin from Newbridge. It is a dual-carriageway essentially, but nowhere as good as the ones in the UK. As I said earlier, the surface is very uneven and the hardshoulder is a joke. The N7 merges into the M7 just past Naas, but it stays as 2 lanes - the only difference is that there are proper slip-roads at the exits. What they will be doing on the N7 is removing the traffic lights and junctions and putting in motorway-like intersections. Currently, we reach the point where the M7 becomes the N7 at about 70 mph and then have to go through 2 sets of traffic lights. These lights cause major traffic hold-ups in the mornings, but I miss them due to working shifts. The roadworks are due to finish next year in the summer, just in time for a major golf championship.

In Newbridge today I bought petrol for 85.7 cents/litre which is about 61 pence/litre. Not bad, eh?

While the wife's away...cont.

2005-01-17T05:30:00.000Z

Note to self: if you ever feel like taking the kids to a shopping centre to 'keep them amused', don't. Stay at home and stick needles in your eyes instead. An over-stimulated 2-and-a-half year old and a wilfully sadistic 6 year-old brother in a crowded centre do not a good combination make. Luckily, I got the shopping I wanted at the start, before the madness started. Here's where we went, anyway. This is one of the largest out-of-town centres in Ireland, believe it or not (not that there's that many). One of the hardest things to get used to when we first came over here was the distinct lack of shops, compared to the UK. We felt like we were missing out or being deprived. Now though, a year later, we've reached the point where going to Liffey Valley feels like a treat, even though it is smaller than the centre in my old town (Slough) and it takes nearly an hour to get there. And you know what, I think it's better like this - we appreciate it more.

While the wife's away...

2005-01-15T01:04:00.000Z

The wife has gone back to england for the weekend and I get to......look after the kids. Great. I feel like I've been let off the leash only to find the gate is still locked. I mean, sure, what else would I do?

I'm going to have to sort out another website as Lycos are threatening to pull the plug on my free one with them, because it's not getting enough hits. I only wanted it so I could link to photograps etc.

Metric Madness

2005-01-14T05:44:00.000Z

The Irish government's next big idea (after banning smoking in confined public spaces, which has worked a treat by the way), is to change speed limits on the roads to metric i.e. from mph to km/h. This is all supposed to happen on the 20th of January. I don't know how all the signs are going to be changed so quickly. The main reason stated for doing all this is that it will somehow make the roads 'safer'. I don't know how this will work as they don't seem to have any means of enforcing the limits; speed cameras are rare and police on the roads even rarer.
We've all been sent little stickers with the old limit and the new metric equivalents on. You're supposed to stick them in your car, but pull over to the side of the road when you need to consult it. Yeah, right. Nevermind that the average hardshoulder on an Irish road looks like something that has been carpet-bombed , you'll probably get someone ramming into you.

Bollocks

2005-01-12T21:52:00.000Z

I ordered a GeForce 6600GT on new year's day (how sad am I). I am still waiting for it to be delivered from here
They tell me some more are due in on the 17th (the 17th!), but this cannot be confirmed. If no-one else didn't have any, I would be cancelling my order. I am waiting to play this with my shiny new card.

Thin end of the flat-pack wedge

2005-01-11T06:53:00.000Z

It has just been recently announced over here that Ikea are going to be finally allowed to build a store of the size they want. Currently, large retail warehouse shops have been prevented from opening due to a size restriction. Ikea typically operate huge stores. They threatened to open a store just over the border and, hey presto, the government come up with a fudge that allows Ikea to build a large store in a 'regeneration' zone. Personally, I don't miss Ikea, but it will be curious to see what people make of them over here. Who needs Ikea anyway when we have Jim Langans?

Shops over here are generally smaller than the UK, but I think there is more variety. Every high street in the UK looks the same. I hope by letting Ikea in we don't see the same thing happen here.

It's also just been announced that Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston are separating. Jenn, if you need a shoulder to cry on, get in touch. My wife won't mind; she likes Brad Pitt.

Check these out. Some free dub. Excellent.

The road to Hell...

2005-01-09T23:51:00.000Z

So I'm coming home from work yesterday morning at 07:00 when, trying to avoid the small lakes at the side of the road caused by the storm, I hit a pothole and give myself a flat tyre. I try and convince myself that it isn't flat, but I soon hear the sound of metal on road. So, I have to pull over to the side of a dark back-road and change my tyre:
- in the dark
- in a gale
- in the rain
- when I've just finished a night-shift
To make matters worse, when I jack the car up I can't get the nuts off because they're on so tight and so I have to lower the car again so the wheel won't turn, loosen the nuts and then jack the car up again.

Oh, and thanks to the people who went past. What do you think I was doing there?

Another day, another blog

2005-01-07T08:35:00.000Z

Been messing with the template a bit. Great fun.

'England Away' is in no way a reference to the English football team or their supporters. I can't play football to save my life and I'm hardly their most zealous supporter. It refers to the fact that I am english, but don't live in that fine country anymore. I was so happy to be english when the fans rioted after England lost to the French last year in the European Cup...and I wonder why I moved away.

Another blog, just what the world needs

2005-01-07T01:00:00.000Z

Starting this blog is sort of a new year's resolution and it's got off to a great start. I've been looking at other blogs for a few months and thought it looked fun. I'm not going to have anything profound to say and I'll probably end up talking to myself....