UnLaoised

Away For A Few Days

GerryOS — 2008-06-30T23:11:20+01:00

Off to Tuscany tomorrow.

And before anyone goes “Lucky sod!”, it’s work, OK?

Back Saturday night.

Macro Mode

GerryOS — 2008-06-28T23:25:55+01:00

The camera that I bought a while back, a Ricoh Caplio R7, has a great lens. As well as a really good wide-angle option, it can capture some fantastic detail up close in Macro mode.

I have been playing around with it over the last while, mostly with the produce of my wife’s flower beds, pots and hanging baskets.

A few shots after the jump, and a gallery here.

Click on the individual photos for full-fat versions (3264 x 2448 pixels). Feel free to download and keep, but bear in mind that these images are covered by a Creative Commons Licence.

Water droplets on a sweetpea leaf.

Thyme in flower.

Stamens on a fuschia.

¡Fiesta!

GerryOS — 2008-06-29T23:24:57+01:00

In honour of Spain’s deserved win in Euro 2008 - The Pogues.

Ryanair Talking Bollocks (Again)

GerryOS — 2008-06-28T21:40:47+01:00

Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary was on The Last Word on Thursday evening, arguing against the provision of the Dublin North Metro project. This is a pet topic of Ryanair, and one that I noted their opinions on before. (Download an MP3 of the interview here.)

But this time O’Leary excelled himself as the arrogant, pompous, “Look at me, I’m on the side of the consumer” little gobshite that he is. His schtick is that because the majority of passengers come to airports in cars, therefore they are not interested in any other form of transport to get them to and from Dublin Airport. During the debate, his views were challenged by Sean Murphy, Director of Policy at Chambers Ireland. Whenever Murphy spoke, O’Leary could be heard making derisory snoring noises.

What he failed to say is that Ryanair have a commercial interest in maintaining the status quo. They have a deal with Hertz at the airport, and earn commission on referrals to Hertz from the Ryanair website. In addition, car parking is a valuable revenue stream to the DAA, and any reduction in that would doubtless lead to higher landing charges for airlines like Ryanair.

Still, expecting them to come clean would be futile. This is after all the airline that tried to pull a fast one on Munster fans earlier this year. Predicting as far back as January that their team would reach the final in Cardiff in May, fans booked the 6.50am flight on Ryanair to Bristol for fares in in the region of €50 or so. Once Munster won the semi-final, Ryanair ‘rescheduled’ the flight to 3pm (which would have been too tight to make the 5pm kick-off time), and offered fans a full refund if the new time didn’t suit. But a few days later, the 6.50am flight miraculously reappeared, this time priced at €229.

The Times They Are No Longer A-Chargin'

GerryOS — 2008-06-28T21:30:26+01:00

Excellent news comes today from the Irish Times, who will open up their online service free to read from Monday. The paper has its faults (pomposity, Dublin-centric, oh-so-fluffy Weekend Magazine), but compared to the competition, it’s streets ahead.

The new service will also have a new url: irishtimes.com, and the existing one, ireland.com will continue life as a portal for everything Irish. (A portal site? How very Web 1.0!)

Passwords

GerryOS — 2008-06-27T22:27:51+01:00

I have an app here on my Mac called Yojimbo, which is a repsoitory for various bits ‘n’ bobs. I use it a lot for things

like licence keys of purchased software, PDFs of online receipts, etc. But it also stores all the username and password combinations I use. If ever I find myself looking blankly at a login page, I just consult Yojimbo and find the relevant username and password, having first unlocked it with a password I keep in my brain.

Mac OS X has a utility that addresses this need and more, called Keychain.

Whenever you visit a site and enter a username and password, you get the option to save for future use. This is handy if you only ever have one user, but if you have two or more users, it doesn’t work so well. My wife and I both have Gmail accounts (I have at least four), so relying on Keychain doesn’t work so well in this case. Keychain also keeps a record of usernames and passwords for system functions like wireless networks, etc.

I have another utility installed called 1Password, which gets over this. This installs a

button on your browsers, which when you click it, lists all the user accounts available for the relevant service. If you think that sounds a bit too risky, it can be locked off so that it can’t be accessed by unauthorised users.

Setting effective and memorable passwords can be tricky. We are always told to use letters and numbers and mix lower case and upper case. For some reason that I cannot explain, I have an unnatural memory for car registrations. I can remember the reg numbers of my parents’ cars back to the early 1970s, so combinations of two or more can make a good strong password. Also, and again for reasons unexplained, I have ingrained on my memory postcodes of addresses I lived at in London. Add in the house number and capitalise the first lot of letters, and there’s another one.

One of the big temptations is to use the same username and password combination across everything. This is a serious no-no, because if your cover gets blown, you could be in serious trouble.

Time Machine

GerryOS — 2008-06-24T23:52:30+01:00

When Mac OS X Leopard was released a few months ago, one of the major features being promoted was Time Machine. This was Apple’s revolutionary approach to backing up, which creates incremental versions of files and documents that can be accessed by going “back in time.” So if you create a file on a Monday and amend it on Wednesday, and then on Thursday decide you actually wanted Monday’s version to work on, you can restore your current version of the file to the state it was in on Monday. When I upgraded, I set Time Machine up to back up to an external hard drive, even though I was already using SuperDuper! as a backup solution (and Mozy too. And Flickr for my photos. As you can see, I’m paranoid about data loss.)

I never had occasion to actually restore anything from any of my back-up sets till last week. I was writing a piece on this site about the death of Esbjörn Svensson, and was trying to embed an MP3 of one of his tunes into the post. Whatever happened, the page file got corrupted and threw up an error message when I tried to publish. I deleted the post, rewrote it without the MP3 and tried again. Same story. It was late and I was heading for France the following day, so I decided to leave it till I came back to sort out.

The whole site is contained as a single Rapidweaver file (called a sandwich), which is stored on the hard drive of my iMac, and backed up to my three back-up systems daily. So by the time I came back home, the corrupt file was now the backed up one. Normally, this would cause a problem, but because I have Time Machine, I was able to fix it quite easily. I just went back through Time Machine to the day before I started writing the post that caused all the problems, and brought that copy forward to the present, replacing the corrupt one. I then rewrote the post and voilà, it worked.

Using Music In Ads

GerryOS — 2008-06-23T22:45:27+01:00

The new Bulmers TV ad for summer 2008 is out, and as usual, they have chosen a great song to accompany it. This time it’s ‘Lazy Day’ by The Byrds (or maybe The Flying Burrito Brothers). It’s a good example of how to do music in an ad like this. Take a classic song that most people will just about know, and don’t mess with it. They have done this several times in the past, including this one from a few years ago, featuring ‘Sunny Afternoon’ by The Kinks.

A good example of how not to do it comes via the Corona beer radio ad. It takes the 1979 hit “My Sharona” by The Knack and alters the lyrics to “My Corona.” Another line becomes “Ooh, you taste so good, like you should, like I knew you would” or something like that. My ears bleed every time I hear it. Whoever came up with it deserves to be cast into the wilderness wearing sackcloth and ashes, to feed off locusts. Here’s the original:

Esbjörn Svensson

GerryOS — 2008-06-18T23:20:47+01:00

I was very sorry to hear of the death last weekend of the Swedish jazz pianist Esbjörn Svensson. He was 44, and died as a result of a scuba diving accident.

I discovered him about four years ago, and saw him in concert in Vicar Street in May 2005. This was my first "real” jazz concert, and it was an incredible experience. Even though the piano was the lead intrument in the trio, the bass and drums were also to the fore. Although the main focus of his work was on his own compositions, he was also a fine interpreter of standards, as this version of Thelonious Monk’s “Round Midnight” shows.

Losing The Run Of One's Self

GerryOS — 2008-06-20T23:12:01+01:00

Over at Irish Election, in a comment from some dude called ‘Future Taoiseach’:

A once democraric union of cooperating nation states has crossed the line into coercion and dictatorship. As in Mugabe’s Zimbabwe, your vote is not respected unless you vote ‘the right way’.

Indeed. Why, only this evening, I saw a marauding gang of veterans of the Maastricht and Nice campaigns burn a family of “No” voters out of their home in Bracklone Street here in Portarlington.

Happy Fathers Day

GerryOS — 2008-06-14T23:35:56+01:00

Sunday, 15 June is Fathers Day. Best wishes to all the Dads, Dads-to-be, Grandads, etc., out there.

The Lies Have It

GerryOS — 2008-06-13T21:51:15+01:00

The result of the referendum was not unexpected, but it is still depressing all the same.

The usual clichés were being trotted out on the airwaves all day:

“The people have spoken and we must respect their decision…”
“Now is not the time for recriminations or assigning blame…”
“We must now reflect on what the people have said…”

Blah, blah, blah.

Two things swung this referendum result - ineptitude on the Yes side and lies on the No side.

The No campaign was well under way before the political establishment got its act together. By the time they shook off their ennui, the best the Yes crowd could do was to try to fight an EU referendum campaign assuming that Ireland’s enthusiasm for the EU from times past was still intact. How wrong they were. Their posters were crap, ranging from bland platitudes to “get to know you” opportunities for the candidates in next year’s local and Euro elections. In debates they were forced onto the back foot by a No campaign that had no compunction about lying repeatedly. Then there was the infighting, with public squabbles between the various pro-Lisbon parties.

What they should have done from the outset was pool their resources and establish one strong Yes campaign, with the focus on the issues and not the personalities. The treaty was always going to be a difficult sell, as the issues involved didn’t resonate with people’s everyday lives. The Yes campaign failed to make the treaty relevant enough to the electorate to motivate them to vote for it.

In contrast, all the No campaign had to do was to raise as many spectres as it could to sow seeds of doubt in the minds of the electorate. It didn’t matter how they did this, as the end justified the means. So they presented a campaign that ranged from what could be called “creative interpretation” of the treaty to outright lies. Tax, neutrality, abortion, worker’s rights, etc., it didn’t matter - just keep spreading the shit and some of it would eventually stick.

What’s disappointing is that no-one on the Yes side had the balls to nail these lies at source. Rather than getting bogged down in technical arguments with sloganeering opponents, it might have been more productive to just call the lies as they emerged. Rather than trying to explain the ins and outs of QMV, or the Maastricht protocol or whatever, it might have been more productive to just say to the naysayer: “We have explained time and time again that the concerns you raise have been addressed. Why do you persist in repeating these unfounded misrepresentations/lies?” Forcing them on to the defensive and making them justify their point of view would have stopped their lies in their tracks.

But that’s all the realm of “what if” now. The referendum has been lost and we must move on to salvage something from the wreckage. Ireland’s political capital in the EU has plummetted in value, and it is now up to Brian Cowen and the rest of the government to restore our reputation as an enthusiastic member of the EU club. It won’t be easy. Neither will it be easy to explain to our EU partners why Ireland rejected the treaty. A lot of the critical detail of the treaty was actually won by the doggedness of the Irish negotiators on behalf of the smaller states, such as the rotating commission arrangement. Originally, the bigger states would have a permanent place on the commission, with the smaller states rotating. Irish intervention changed that to all states regardless of size having to share and concede time on the commission. (Not that it really matters anyway, as commissioners represent their portfolios within the EU, not the states from which they come.)

Still, we can always look on the bright side. At least the threat of the New World Order as outlined by Jim Corr has been averted. (YouTube audio link.)

More Thoughts On Renegotiating The Lisbon Treaty

GerryOS — 2008-06-10T22:45:05+01:00

Last night, I posted my reasons for voting Yes to the Lisbon Treaty this Thursday.

Since then the issue of renegotiating the Treaty has come up again, so I’m going to hammer a few more nails into this one.

As I said last night, if Ireland rejects the Treaty and is forced to go back to renegotiate it, this will have to be done by the very people who negotiated it in the first place. Some naysayers seem to think that we will be in a position of strength in this situation, given our requirement for a referendum in order to pass the Treaty into Irish law.

This is utter horseshit. If we do that, we will be sending our representatives back into the negotiating chamber on their knees. As far as our EU partners are concerned, our negotiators were satisfied with what they got last time round, especially given the fact that the bulk of the negotiations were done on our patch, during our presidency of the EU in 2004. Those opt-outs, protocols and clauses that we gained in the original round of negotiations were the result of hard bargaining, and not everyone was happy that we got them. So if we go back looking for more, we would more than likely end up with less than we had originally.

What is this “better deal” that Libertas, Sinn Féin, Kathy SInnott MEP, et al seem to think we can extract from our EU partners? The simple fact is that it doesn’t exist. The lake of goodwill in today’s EU is not particulaly deep and if we think we can send our horses to drink from it having first let them trample over everyoines else’s flowerbeds, we’ll soon find out that it has dried up.

Even in the best case scenario, whereby we actually come through a renegotiating process with a treaty that is no worse than the one we have now (we will not get a better one, remember), there is every likelihood that the very same hurlers in the ditch will come out and oppose that one too.

In simple terms - this is the best deal we’re going to get. Let’s take it and move on.

New Apple Goodies

GerryOS — 2008-06-09T23:11:41+01:00

If it’s early June, then it must be Apple World Wide Developer Conference time. That means a keynote from Steve Jobs, which usually means new goodies. Not always mind, as the WWDC, as its name suggests, is aimed at third-party software developers, so the shiny new kit doesn’t always materialise at this time of year.

But this year it did. The 3G iPhone is on the way, and just looking at it now, it really is a magnificent piece of work. It looks like they overcame the initial problems of getting 3G the iPhone, such as battery performance, and then some. The only price we know of so far is the US$ one, and it starts at €199 for an 8GB model. This is half the current price for an original iPhone, and a third of the initial price of the 4GB model released just under a year ago.

Hopefully, O2 will launch it in Ireland with a decent price and contract, but based on their past form, I won’t be holding my breath.

The other announcement of note is MobileMe, or .Mac 2.0. This is a long overdue upgrade to Apple’s online suite of apps and utilities, and as a subscriber, I am delighted to see this one coming down the tracks.

Yes

GerryOS — 2008-06-09T22:29:34+01:00

On Thursday, I will get up at some ungodly hour and make my way to Dublin Airport to catch a 6.30am flight to the UK for a meeting. I should be back in Dublin about 12 hours later, so there will still be plenty of time before the polling stations close to go and cast my vote.

And if you hadn’t worked it out by now, that vote will be a Yes. I’m voting Yes for several reasons:

I believe that this treaty is a positive step forward for the EU.
It brings reform to where it is needed.
Ireland’s specific concerns have been addressed (even though I’m not bothered about one or two of them.)
I am satisfied that Ireland’s sovereignty will not be compromised by this treaty.

Furthermore, I simply don’t believe the arguments put about by the various No campaigners. The tax issue is one. We retain a veto on the issue of Corporation Tax. It won’t change unless we agree to it.

The commissioner issue is nonsense. You would swear listening to the arguments that Ireland was the only state that was due to lose a commissioner in the rotation. It will affect every member state. Furthermore, commissioners do not represent their own states’ interests at the commission table. They are there to manage a portfolio without fear or favour to any member state, their own included. To say that each member state has to have a representative commissioner at all times is like saying that every constituency in Ireland has to have a representative minister in the Cabinet. Ireland’s interests will be represented by the Council of Ministers, The European Council (Heads of Government), and the European Parliament. All of these bodies are made up of people who have either been elected to their national parliaments, or directly to the European Parliament itself. Unlike commissioners, who are appointed.

Finally, there is the notion going around that if we reject the Lisbon Treaty, we can somehow negotiate a better deal for Ireland. This gibberish is being peddled by Sinn Féin and also by Kathy Sinnott MEP. So let’s say we do reject it. Who is going to have to go back to our EU partners to renegotiate it? One thing’s for sure, it won’t be the Shinners, or Kathy Sinnott, or any of the other naysayers. It will be the government, the very people who negotiated this deal in the first place, and who are trying to convince the electorate that this deal is the best Ireland can get.

If you can’t make up your mind, or if you feel you don’t understand what it’s all about, I would recommend that you read the Referendum Commission booklet that was delivered to every household in the State. If you can’t get hold of that, they have a website lisbontreaty2008.ie

Lisbon Explained

GerryOS — 2008-06-08T23:01:35+01:00

This is class - The Treaty Of Lisbon, A Spoofer’s Guide To How Not To Vote No.

via Conor.

Can No-one In The Yes Campaign Use Photoshop?

GerryOS — 2008-06-06T00:06:56+01:00

This sort of stuff is a piece of piss to do.

Just A Thought…

GerryOS — 2008-06-06T00:01:26+01:00

…is Bertie deliberately spinning completely bullshit stories to demonstrate his contempt for the Mahon Tribunal? I mean, come on - winning eight grand on some bag of bones in the 2.30 at Chepstow?

Double you tea eff, like?

Yes Campaign - Unable To Organise Piss-Up In Brewery (Official)

GerryOS — 2008-06-05T22:48:58+01:00

Over the last week or so, I got the distinct impression that the tide has been turning in favour of the anti-Lisbon point of view. This evening that hunch has been confirmed, as a poll in tomorrow’s Irish Times shows that the No vote is five points ahead of the Yes vote.

If this follows through to polling day, it will be a disaster for both the government and the main opposition parties. So far they have allowed the No campaign to gain the upper hand and instil the necessary FUD into the minds of the electorate (well, those voters who are going to bother their arses to vote, at least.)

So where has it all gone wrong? They say that a lie gets half way around the world before the truth gets its boots on, and this is true in this case. The Yes campaign have not had a chance to fight this campaign on their own terms, as they have been forced to spend their time and resources denying the claims of the No side. Whatever the issue, be it taxation, neutrality, workers’ rights, the democratic deficit or abortion, the Yes campaign were forced to firefight. But it didn’t matter, because the seed of doubt has already been sown.

The treaty is a difficult sell for the Yes campaign, as it falls foul of the old maxim that all politics are local. The beneficiary of this treaty is the EU as a whole, and is is difficult to point to any aspect within it that is of direct benefit to Ireland specifically. But it is easy to spin a negative interpretation of it, and point to aspects of it that could possibly be to Ireland’s detriment.

To add to the Yes side’s woes is the general sense of apathy among the electorate. A common reaction is to claim not to understand the treaty (a seam well-mined by the No side), and thus not to bother voting at all. Given that the No side probably have a more motivated constituency, this will work in their favour.

Even taking into account the the difficulty in selling the positives of the treaty, the Yes campaign has been very wishy-washy. “Good for Ireland, Good for Europe” claim Fianna Fáil. Bland, bland, bland. Fine Gael and Labour used the campaign as an opportunity to introduce their candidates for the 2009 local and European elections. Labour’s campaign especially was a disgrace, as you really had to look closely for their message regarding this campaign. Where a lamp post had one poster with a photo of Eamon Gilmore making a profound political point, and another one claiming that we are going to pay more tax because of the Lisbon Treaty, there was only ever going to be one winner.

The Yes campaign have six days to turn this around. They need to promote this as a way of showing that Ireland is a team player in Europe. They need to definitively nail the lies from Libertas, Coir and the rest of the FUD-merchants.

I’m voting Yes and I hope that it passes, but my hopes are below my expectations.

See also Bock and Irish Election

Rapidweaver 4.0

GerryOS — 2008-06-01T21:57:28+01:00

Realmac Software have released the latest version of Rapidweaver, the app I use to publish this site.

The overall usability of the interface has improved hugely. Basic editing tasks, such as font selection, text alignment, links and HTML are now available from buttons under the main text pane, instead of having to go to the Format menu.

Themes and inspectors are now available as buttons as well. Overall it has a “native OS X” feel to it, and would not look out of place in either iWork or iLife.

There’s also a very slick Cover Flow-style effect to show publishing progress, and the overall speed of publishing seems to have improved immensely.

I think a new theme for UnLaoised will have to be deployed to mark this auspicious occasion!

Rapidweaver 4.0 is available as a free upgrade for registered users of version 3.6. Upgrades from version 3.5 or earlier costs €20.49, and a completely new licence costs €40.28.

Awash With Greatness!

GerryOS — 2008-05-24T20:36:58+01:00

Well, what can I say after that? Me nerves!!!

After a pulsating, nerve-wracking, tightly-fought contest, Munster prevailed over the might of Stade Toulousain to claim their second Heineken Cup title in three years, and can now truly be known as one of the world's greatest rugby teams. Whatever critics may say of their style, they know how to win, and that's what counts.

After an opening period of Toulouse domination, Munster were on the back foot, but managed to keep the damage down to a single drop goal. The fact that Ellisalde chose to take on the role of sniper possibly showed that Tououlse realised from early on that they were going to get little change from the Munster defence. Once Munster managed to get hold of the ball, they made ground and started to control the game, and after a sustained ten-minute period of pressure were 10-3 to the good. They conceded a penalty on the stroke of half time, which allowed the French to get back to within four.

The turning point in the second half was Fabien Pelous getting sin-binned. ROG slotted the penalty, but in the ten minute period when they had numerical advantage, they conceded a try. It was a work of genius conceived by full-back Heymans, who ran like a train down the left touchline, and slotted the ball in-field .Jauzion ran on to it to give it another poke, allowing wing Donguy to fall onto it.

Minutes beforehand, we were treated to the genius of Doug Howlett, who ran onto a pass from fellow Kiwi Rui Tipoki and then shredded the Toulouse defence. Sadly, the pass from Tipoki was adjudged to be forward and it didn't count.

A further penalty from O'Gara nudged Munster in front again, and they controlled the ball through the forwards for most of the last quarter to run down the clock and keep the French on the back foot. In the end, Toulouse ran out of time and Munster prevailed.

There were some immense performances from the Munster men, particualrly in the pack. Alan Quinlan rightly won Man of the Match for a barnstorming performance in the back row. He made a menace of himself all day and was instrumental in several turnovers. Captain Paul O'Connell kept the line-out ship steady and even managed to nick a few off the French. He was off for a blood injury for a short period in the second half, and in that time Munster shipped two line outs. Donncha O'Callaghan was superb, driving, tackling, and assisting, especially when he added his muscle to Denis Leamy's lunge for the line for Munster's try. Similarly Jerry Flannery, who picked and drove magnificently. And never forget John Hayes, who's scrummaging was magnificent.

A nice touch came at the presentation of the trophy. Instead of just hoisting it over his own head, Paul O'Connell shared the lifting duty with Ronan O'Gara, who captained the side throughout the treacherous pool campaign.

There can be no doubt now as to Munster's standing at the top of the pile of European rugby. To get to where they are tonight, they had to get past last year's champions, last year's Challenge Cup champions, the side that knocked them out last season, two of the top sides in the English Premiership (both away), and then today overcome the aristocrats of French and European rugby.

Declan Kidney now goes on to the national set up. Two things he has brought to Munster which he hopefully will bring to Ireland will be: always winning tight games, and knowing how to beat French teams.

Flannery

GerryOS — 2008-05-23T22:34:37+01:00

OK, everyone in Ireland has heard this one by now. I was in London on Tuesday, and so missed the debut on Gift Grub.

Whatever about Jerry Flannery's reaction to hearing it for the first time, I'd love to know what his girlfriend thought of it!

Here We Go Again

GerryOS — 2008-05-22T22:07:38+01:00

I missed the Heineken Cup Final in 2006. You know, the one that Munster won. As in Munster, the team I regularly write about. Here's what happened.

Back in January of that year, I was asked to take a group of customers to Jerez de la Frontera in southern Spain on a wine trip in the middle of May. Not wearing a rugby hat that day, I agreed. As the season panned out, it became apparent that I was going to miss the final due to the trip, but by that stage it was too late to back out.

We arrived on the Tuesday and were due to leave on Saturday afternoon. We were flying out of Seville, so we had an hour's bus journey to the airport, and that hour was right splat in the middle of the match. I had my laptop with me, and managed to get the first 20 minutes in the lobby of the hotel, listening to the great Michael Corcoran on RTE's streaming web coverage. Back home, my wife, six months pregnant, was watching the match live and sending me updates by text. Being a proud Cork woman and Munster supporter, she naturally got caught up in the emotions of the day, and as the match wore on, her missives to me on the bus between Jerez and Seville became more cryptic.

But then one came through loud and clear. "STRNGR TRY!!!!!!!"

When we got to the airport, she rang me. It was all over. She was speechless, but eventually managed to squeak out "We won!" between sobs of joy. She still maintains that if she had been a few weeks further along the pregnancy that day, she would have been in The Coombe that night.

So here we are again. Munster stand on the cusp of glory once more, and if they make it to the top of the hill this time, it will be even better than '06. (Apologies for the mixed metaphors.) Two years ago, they had a home quarter final and to all intents and purposes, a home quarter final against Leinster. This time, they had to practically tunnel out of the worst possible pool draw, and then face two away knock-out draws. And once that was over, face the only side that has contested more Heineken Cup Finals than they have, a side who have won three so far. As Sheryl Crow sang, no-one said it would be easy.

On the plus side, this is a more complete Munster side than in 2006. Alongside the well-established pack, there is a back line that any opposition would fear. The two Kiwi centres, Mafi and Tipoki have been awesome for Munster this season. Once Trevor Halstead left, I was afraid that our back line would miss that line-smashing element he brought to the game. Thankfully Tipoki has it, and his partnership with his fellow New Zealander means that we have a mean centre partnership. Plus the fact that these guys can run. I remember Mafi's first appearance in a Munster shirt. Can't remember the opposition, but I think it was a Welsh team in the Celtic League. He got hold of the ball, saw a gap, slid through it and put on the afterburners. He didn't score, but he really showed that he had pace.

Then we have Doug Howlett on the wing. Everyone thinks that Decaln Kidney signed him just for his try-scoring ability, but it's his defensive work that has more than repaid the fee laid out for him. On the other wing, Ian Dowling is maturing into a fine player, with a keen eye on the break and also on keeping his channel secure. Likewise, Denis Hurley will most likely secure the full-back berth, having done well in the position in recent matches.

So, how's it going to go? I'm not as confident going into this final as I was back in 2006, but I still think Munster can win it. There will be no more than a score between the teams, and it will either be won by an act of genius or lost by a cruel mistake.

The cake would be a Munster win. The icing would be seeing the "Man of the Match" award going to Munster's most faithful servant. The man the commentators never see securing the rucks, steadying the scrum and launching Paul O'Connell single-handedly into the sky at the line-out. The man known as "The Bull". Munster's unsung hero, John Hayes.

Another Jammy Champions League Win For Man Yoo

GerryOS — 2008-05-21T23:43:11+01:00

Like in 1999, Man Yoo had to rely on luck to win the Champions League trophy tonight. Chelsea equalised on the stroke of half time through Frank Lampard and controlled the game from then on. They struck the woodwork twice (as did Bayern Munich in the '99 final), but eventually lost on penalties.

Naturally the Glory Glories will be filling their scrapbooks from tomorrow on, but this victory is a hollow one. At least nine years ago they managed to win in normal time. This time their win came about as a result of John Terry's misfortune in losing his footing as he took his penalty.

Just in case anyone thinks that I am an embittered Chelski fan, think otherwise. I can't stand either of them. It's just that my dislike of United has deeper roots.

There were two highlights for me, though: Drogba's sending-off and Ronaldo missing the penalty. If Ronaldo's miss had cost them the title, that would have been the icing on the cake, but, hey, you can't have it all.

(Unless you're a United fan, that is.)

Robert Mondavi Dies

GerryOS — 2008-05-16T22:02:04+01:00

Robert Mondavi, one of the wine industry's legendary figures, has died aged 94. As well as building up his own eponymous empire in the Napa Valley, he also collaborated with the Rothschild dynasty of Bordeaux to create the iconic Opus One.

Decanter have an obituary here.

Incoming FUD

GerryOS — 2008-05-15T22:47:27+01:00

The current Lisbon Treaty referendum campaign is turning out to be one of the dirtiest in years. On the one side we have all of the mainstream political parties, IBEC, Alliance for Europe, etc. On the other side we have all the perennial anti-EU treaty stalwarts like Sinn Féin, the Socialist Party, various trade unions; alongside newer and slicker organisations such as Libertas.

Whichever side of the argument you are on, it's going to be a hard sell. Few people are going to go to the trouble of actually reading the treaty itself, and those that attempt to do so will probably give up after page 2 or 3. It's not a page turner, it's a complex legal text, that is also an amending treaty to other already established treaties.

Now that the campaign proper has gotten underway, it would appear that both sides are trying to use FUD as a tactic to get their message

across. The Yes campaign is trying to frighten us into believing that a No vote will isolate us from the EU beltway. their themes include threats to jobs and investment. All utter crap. If we reject it, the worst we will face is having to vote on it again, à la Nice.

The No side are tripping over themselves to paint the Doomsday scenario of an Ireland at the heel of a Euro superstate. There are posters and leaflets out there that are frankly disgraceful. Here's a selection, collated by blogging solicitor Simon McGarr. (The one used to illustrate this page is from that stream, published under a Cretive Commons licence.) Why bother trying to argue against what's in the treaty, when it's so much easier to spread the FUD with what's not in the treaty?

It's going to be a long few weeks, I think.

Abusing Democracy

GerryOS — 2008-05-13T22:09:52+01:00

It had to happen. A local protest group has hitched their trailer to the anti-Lisbon Treaty wagon. Activists in Roscommon campaigning for the retention of hospital services in the county town have urged their supporters to reject the Lisbon Treaty as a way of getting the government's attention.

Now I am glad that Ireland has a written constitution, even when it means holding a referendum on something or other almost every year. However, it does leave us vulnerable to political gobshitery such as this. We are the only electorate in the 27-member EU who will have the privilege of voting on whether or not we approve of the Lisbon Treaty. Therefore we should cast our vote based on our opinion of the treaty, and that alone. Using it as a proxy to highlight a completely separate issue is immature and an abuse of the democratic right we are privileged to possess.

DK Has A Pop At DK

GerryOS — 2008-05-13T07:53:21+01:00

From today's Indo:

David Knox, The Goys' backs coach is perplexed by Declan Kidney's appointment as Irish national coach.

"The Irish international team badly needed a foreign coach."

Like an Aussie, maybe? One with blond hair?

"Kidney's methods, like making the team train in the away strip they'd be wearing at Gloucester in the Heineken Cup and playing them a tape of the crowd noise at Kingsholm to get them used to the conditions, are bizarre. I would be embarrassed as a coach for people to know that."

Lemme see, who won that quarter-final? Oh yes, it was Munster, wasn't it?

Knox was also heavily critical of Munster's playing style under Kidney. He acknowledges their successes in the Heineken Cup but maintains they have achieved glory in that competition at the expense of any style or flair.

In a straight choice between "glory" and "style or flair", I think I'll pick…hmmm…tough one this…

He also has a go at Ronan O'Gara:

"I have been here, coaching in Ireland for three years, and I have never seen that guy create space for anybody. I've never seen him put anyone into a hole."

And that's the be-all and end-all of everything, is it? Controlling the pace and tempo of the game, gaining field position, etc., means nothing?

"Munster's record is fantastic but you can't tell me they play anything but 10- man rugby."

Come on Dave! Admit it. You're going for the Munster job, aren't you?

"Munster get 30 points on the board by grinding away and when the other team is shot, they try and throw the ball around a bit. Then people say, what a great team. It's rubbish."

Eh, which Irish team is in the final of the Heineken Cup? The only one to get out of their pool this season?

"If Doug Howlett had played for Leinster this season, he would have ended up scoring 30 tries."

And if your Auntie had bollocks, she'd be your uncle. What about your own Galacticos? Any of them score 30 tries this season?

"He's seen as the greatest buy of the year but how often has he touched the ball? Maybe 10 times in a real attacking sense? I'm talking about serious attacking play, not chasing kick-aheads. Yet this is one of the world's premier wings. They have no idea how to use him."

If anything, Howlett's defensive work alone has more than justified what it cost to sign him.

"And the two other guys they brought in from the southern hemisphere, Rua Tipoki and Lifeimi Mafi, hardly ever played Super 14 rugby I think Tipoki made a couple of appearances off the bench. They are both steppers, they never pass the ball."

But they're playing Heineken Cup Rugby at the highest level and will start in the final on Sunday week, while your charges will be sitting on their orses in Kiely's, roysh, necking the Heinos and watching the game.

He goes on to rail against "the paranoid world of Irish [international] rugby", and I actually agree with most of what he says there.

Excuse Me While I Stifle A Yawn

GerryOS — 2008-05-12T21:45:11+01:00

So yesterday, one obscenely wealthy football club managed to beat another obscenely wealthy football club to the Premiership title. And if that wasn't enough, next week the same two obscenely wealthy football clubs will battle it out for the Champions' League title in Moscow.

I have noticed over the last month or so, a sudden reappearance of replica Manchester United shirts in the cities, towns and villages of our fair isle. They had been conspicuously absent for the last couple of years, but now that Man Yoo are back in their pomp, it's time to break the piggy bank and splash out on the merchandise again.

The Glory Glory days are back with a vengeance.

Aoife Gardener

GerryOS — 2008-05-08T22:13:56+01:00

The wee one is showing signs of having green fingers. These particular genes come from the other side of the house, I can confirm with some confidence.

Peak Profit

GerryOS — 2008-05-07T22:20:58+01:00

Another good 'un from The Joy of Tech (click for the full cartoon)

Average price at the pumps today for a litre of unleaded, according to Pumps.ie, is €1.22

All Hail The New Leader

GerryOS — 2008-05-07T21:45:36+01:00

Today will go down in history as an historic day for Ireland. A new leader has been chosen and a new era dawns. An era of hope and opportunity, one where Ireland potential will be realised. This era will see Ireland become a power across Europe and hopefully across the world.

Yes, people, Wednesday, 7 May will go down in history as the day that Declan Kidney was officially announced as the new coach of the Irish national rugby team.

Oh, yeah. This guy from Clara started a new job today too.

Close Call For Munster

GerryOS — 2008-04-27T22:17:43+01:00

It was never going to be easy. Munster went into today's semi-final against Saracens in the knowledge that this was not going to be the cakewalk that some were predicting. Saracens are a tough, competitive team, and it showed today.

Saracens started the brighter of the two teams and were the first to score, with a brilliant move that started in their own 22. With that, Munster came back into the game and ran in 15 points without reply, 12 of which came from two well-taken tries.

Indiscipline costed both sides in the second half, with Munster shipping a worrying number of penalties, and Rua Tipoki spent ten minutes in the sin bin. But then, over the space of two minutes, Sarries lost both of their props to yellow cards. By the time they were restored to their full compliment of players, the score was 18-13. Glen Jackson added another penalty to finish the match 18-16 to the men in red.

This was as tough a match as Munster could have hoped for, and their defence was tested severely. Doug Howlett showed today just what he is

worth to Munster, with some fine breaks and at least one try-saving tackle. But he wasn't the only one putting in the savage hits. All across the board, Munster were defending as if their lives depended on it.

It could so easily have gone the other way. As the clock inched towards the eightieth minute mark, Saracens were making the hard yards in the Munster half. Eventually, the move broke down and Munster were awarded a penalty, the last kick of the game. Had Saracens kept it going for one more phase, Glen Jackson would probably have had a pop at a drop goal.

But one thing Munster have learned over the years is how to win tight matches. They held out to win by two points, and go on to face Toulouse in the final on 24 May. For a season that had thrown out some of the oddest results, it seems somewhat fitting that the two most aristocratic of regular Heineken Cup teams should contest the decider.

It should be a right old ding-dong.

Tabloid Shame

GerryOS — 2008-04-27T21:50:47+01:00

Another house fire tragedy claims the lives of a family, and once again the tabloid press cover themselves in glory. Not. It was as if they were competing with one another to run the most sensationalist front page headline today.

This happened before, of course, when the McElhill family perished in a fire at their home in Omagh last November. Back then, the red-tops didn't even wait until the bodies had been removed before hoisting the lurid headlines on their front pages.

Now, I know that this story merited its front page billing, but did the News of the World really need to scream "DAD SHOOTS WIFE AND BURNS KIDS ALIVE" from their front page? Do they not realise that the families, friends, neighbours, work colleagues, school pals, etc. of the Flood family are trying to come to terms with the enormity of this tragedy? Are they not allowed to grieve in peace and privacy? Do they not realise the effect a headline like that would have on friends of the children, already traumatised by the loss of their little pals, but now being told in graphic detail how they died? (Not that the official cause of death had been released by the time the papers reached the news stands, but in the world of the tabloids, that's by the by.)

The tabloid press is an utter disgrace.

Expectation

GerryOS — 2008-04-26T22:55:26+01:00

Tomorrow's Heineken Cup semi-final clash between Munster and Saracens brings about all the usual pre-big-match emotions and apprehensiveness. We know that the Munster should prevail, but it can never be taken for granted.

All this week, Declan Kidney has been bigging up Saracens in an effort to deflect from the general media consensus that Munster go into this match as favourites. They came out of a group that included Biarritz, perennial HC heavyweights. they dispatched the Ospreys, several of whom had won the Grand Slam in Welsh shirts a few weeks earlier. They are coached by Alan Gaffney, a coach who, more than most, knows what makes Munster tick.

Much has been made of the fact that the Munster branch returned a portion of their ticket allocation for this match. This has been interpreted as the fans taking the Kerry approach, and choosing not to travel until the final. This may or may not be the prevailing attitude (and I don't believe it is, as Munster fans take nothing for granted), but if there is complacency among the support, it is not there in the team. This is cup rugby, and as such you only have one chance to get it right.

Munster have worked very hard to get this far. They had the shittiest pool draw imaginable, yet won it in style. This was followed by an away quarter-final to Gloucester. Kingsholm is never a venue to look forward to, but Munster went there and won comfortably.

Saracens have never competed at this level of the Heineken Cup before. This is Munster's seventh HC semi-final. They have won three of the last six, and of course, won the competition itself in 2006. Declan Kidney was able to deal from a full deck when he named his team during the week. Alan Gaffney is missing some key players like Andy Farrell and Chris Jack.

Predicting the outcome of a sporting encounter is not particularly scientific. Relying on statistics alone is never a definitive route to making a call. As the man said, statistics are like lamp posts, there to illuminate but not to lean to heavily upon. You look at past performances, take into account mitigating factors like injuries and so on. But there are also the intangibles, the unknown unknowns as Donald Rumsfeld might say.

Saracens may surprise Munster, as they did the Ospreys in the quarter final. But we also have to look at their form in the Guinness Premiership. This is their bread and butter, and they are mid-table at present. They lost to both Gloucester and Wasps in the GP since their win over the Ospreys. Big deal, you might say, Munster lost to Leinster in the Magners League the week after winning at Gloucester. But there is a difference. Even though they will deny it publicly, deep down, as long as they are still in the Heineken Cup, Munster couldn't give a shit about the Magners League. For Saracens, the Guinness Premiership matters hugely.

Munster should win tomorrow, but it will not be easy. Saracens will put up a good fight, but it won't be enough.

A Munster-Toulouse final should be in the offing by tomorrow evening. Now that would be something to look forward to.

Heineken Cup Semi-Final

GerryOS — 2008-04-25T22:10:45+01:00

Monday, 7 April. I arrive home at about 10.30pm from Vinitaly. My wife is away at a work do. The wee one is with her Granny and Grandad. There is a beer in the fridge. Munster's quarter-final against Gloucester is on the Sky+ box.

All of the above is true, just until you pass the bit about the beer. Somehow, we managed to record the London Irish - Perpignan match, but miss the Munster - Gloucester one. Oh well.

This Sunday, Munster face Saracens in the semi-final at the Ricoh Arena in Coventry. I'm at home this time, so there should be no repeat of the Sky+ debacle this time around.

The starting lineup is as follows:

15 Hurley
14 Howlett
13 Mafi
12 Tipoki
11 Dowling
10 O'Gara
11 O'Leary
1 Horan
2 Flannery
3 Hayes
4 O'Callaghan
5 O'Connell
6 Quinlan
7 Wallace
8 Leamy

Replacements: Sheahan, Pucciarello, O'Driscoll, Ryan, Stringer, Warwick, Murphy

That's a strong team in anyone's language. I'll say no more, except COME ON MUNSTER!!!

Winning Friends, etc.

GerryOS — 2008-04-25T21:57:11+01:00

The latest edition of Hospitality Ireland has an interview with Marco Pierre White, the latest British gastro-celeb to cross the Irish Sea. His new venture, Hell's Brasserie, will open at Harry Crosbie's Point Village in 2009.

Eager to learn from the mistakes of his peers, he wants to be sure that he doesn't offend local sensitivities by only having a token presence in his Irish emporium:

"I'm not going to go to Ireland with that attitude, like certain people do who come from the mainland."

Yup. That's a great way to start.

Curry Chips Back On The Menu

GerryOS — 2008-04-17T21:21:52+01:00

He's back!

Nat King Coleslaw, author of Curry Chips walks among us again after a brief I Ate Us. And not only is he back, but he's in cracking form too. Check out his take on Gormleychinatibetgate.

The iPhone Should Be Taken Away From O2 Ireland

GerryOS — 2008-04-15T21:24:06+01:00

Apple have a justifiable reputation as a company with a talent for marketing. Which is why I find it strange that they persist with O2 as their exclusive retail partner for the iPhone in Ireland.

An 8GB iPhone in Ireland will set you back €399 for the handset. The basic calls/text/data package for the iPhone costs €45 per month, and for that you get 175 minutes of calls, 100 texts and 1GB of data.

O2 are also the exclusive retail partner for the iPhone in the UK. There you can pick up an 8GB model for £269 (€334), with a basic monthly tariff costing £35 (€43.50). This tariff includes 600 minutes, 500 texts and unlimited data. Also O2 UK supports visual voicemail, while O2 Ireland does not.

It's been announced today that if you buy an 8GB model in the UK before 1 June, it will only cost €169 (€210).

I cannot understand for a moment why anyone in Ireland would buy an iPhone from O2 Ireland. Compared to the UK, the 8GB phone is almost 20% more expensive at normal prices (90% more expensive during the £100 off promotion). For a similarly priced tariff, our neighbours get 242% more minutes, 250% more text and ∞% more data.

As Pat Phelan calls it: the Paddy Tax.

I'd love to know how many iPhones have been sold in Ireland since it was launched just over a month ago. Surely if they priced the device in line with the UK and offered similarly priced tariffs, the iPhone would be a smash hit. As it is, the only incentive is to take a trip to Northern Ireland, buy one there and jailbreak it.

Come on Apple! Your "partners" are holding back the potential of your device!

Obeying Traffic Lights Is Actually Compulsory…

GerryOS — 2008-04-15T21:03:45+01:00

Driving around as much as I do, you really get to realise the cavalier approach so many Irish road users have to traffic lights. For cyclists, the code is "Green: Go; Amber: Go; Red: Go." Pedestrians seem to think that they are there just to add some colour to the streetscape.

But it is the motorist who is often the worst offender. Frequently I pull up at lights just gone red and one or two vehicles in the neighbouring lanes will go through the red light. Lads, there's only one shade of red! Another is the left or right turn filter. Some junctions have specific signals for left or right turns, and when you approach the junction the signal may be green to go forward and red to go left or right. But to some drivers, these red lights are discretionary. I have seen cars, vans, taxis and even buses break these lights, often crossing a green pedestrian light in the process.

Speaking of pedestrian lights, some drivers seem to be of the opinion that these don't actually count as traffic lights at all. Just this morning, I was on my way into Dublin, when I stopped at the red light of a pedestrian crossing. A woman and her two kids were just about to set foot on the road to cross when a truck sailed through the red light. A second later and they would have been run over.

A Game For Font Geeks

GerryOS — 2008-04-14T21:24:37+01:00

I did a graphic design course a few years ago and during it developed an interest in typography. Since then I have become a font geek of sorts. (Just as I can tell the difference between an Australian and a New Zealand accent, so too do I know the difference between Helvetica and Arial.)

Which brings me to the point of this post. Found, via the excellent Daring Fireball (whose author, John Gruber is a font uber-geek), The Rather Difficult Font Game.

The server upon which it is hosted seems to be getting something of a caning at the moment. It flaked out on me on round 22, by which time I was enjoying a score of 19.

(Disclosure: I only cheated a teeny-tiny bit, and referred to Font Book once or twice, but only to confirm my suspicion.)

Days Like These

GerryOS — 2008-04-14T21:04:49+01:00

Anyone that reads my ramblings on a regular basis will know that I am an advocate of the Mac platform. In my last job I had a fair degree of autonomy and so when I went computer shopping, I was free to pick my platform of choice. Not so in my current employment, and when I started in January, I was given a standard-issue Dell laptop.

It's quite a good machine, in all honesty. It has a 2.2 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, 2 gigs of RAM and a 120 GB hard disk. Windows XP SP2 came pre-installed, and even though it's a big improvement on my last experience with Windows (W98), it's very frustrating to use at times.

There are days, like today, when everything you run crashes. Open an Excel spreadsheet. Crash. Try to extract an e-mail address from a message in Outlook. Crash. Try to drop an image into a Word document. Crash.

However, when I was in Dublin earlier today, I saw the electronic billboard at the top of Grafton Street and realised that I wasn't the only one having problems with Windows today. (I took the photo on my phone, so sorry for the poor quality.)

This Could Just As Easily Apply To Ireland

GerryOS — 2008-04-10T22:19:44+01:00

Tom Tomorrow's "This Modern World" on the crisis in the US housing market:

(click to see the whole cartoon)

Vinitaly

GerryOS — 2008-04-08T22:01:19+01:00

I arrived back from Vinitaly last night, absolutely exhausted. I was away for five nights, so it was nice to be back in my own leaba again.

To those outside the wine business, the idea of going to Verona to taste wine for five days sounds like a cushy number. Of course, it is an enjoyable and educational experience, and for a first-time visitor like myself, a real eye-opener as to the breadth and depth of wine available from Italy. Up to now my area of specialism has generally been French wine, but my new employer majors big time on Italy, so Vinitaly was a great opportunity to get myself up to speed.

But this was a work trip, and it was five days of hard work. I had to meet all of our suppliers and taste all of their wines, writing meaningful tasting notes that I can refer to in the future as I sell these wines to my customers. Happily, our buyers are experts who have a deep understanding of what Italian wine is all about, so it was no hardship to meet some fascinating winemakers and taste some great wines.

Conventional wisdom dictates that you should taste white wines first and then reds. We decided to do the opposite and taste the big, full bodied reds first thing in the morning. The rationale behind this was that by the afternoon, our palates would be knackered and unable to tackle the reds, and the fresh crisp whites would give us a lift from the late afternoon slump. Happily this worked, and we got through prodigious amounts in the first three days.

Italy is a treasure trove for the wine lover. If you are a fan of international varieties like Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Cabernet, Merlot, Syrah, Pinot Noir, etc., you'll find plenty to please you. If you like to try indigenous varieties, you won't have to look too hard to find something to pique your interest, whether it's a Nebbiolo, Barbera or Dolcetto from Piemonte; a Teroldego, Marzemina or Lagrein from Trentino; a Montepulciano from Abruzzo; an Aglianico from Campania; a Primitivo, Negramaro or Malvasia Nera from Puglia; or a Nero d'Avola from Sicily.

I have neglected Italian wine for too long, because in my last job it was something of an afterthought. As a result, I never kept up with the advances made in certain areas. Two of the most famous wines from Veneto, Soave and Valpolicella, I had overlooked for years. In my opinion, they were dull, overcropped rubbish. But while that may have been the case when I

started in the trade nearly twenty years ago, it certainly is not the case today. I tasted some magnificent Soaves in the last week, ranging from the fresh and fruity to some that were very complex and minerally. Similarly, the Valpolicellas I tasted were a revelation, with lovely ripe fruit, clean acidity and the right amount of tannin. The best of Valpolicella, the Ripassos and Amarones were just stunning. Demand is high for these wines and prices are going up.

But for me the biggest eye-opener was the standard of the white wines. Again, in my ignorance, I dismissed Italian whites as neutral and insipid. But how wrong I was. Again it was a mixture of both international and local varieties. I tasted some gorgeous Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc from Friuli Venezia Giulia, alongside local varieties like Ribolla Giallo and Friulano. Even Pinot Grigio, derided as the blandest of the bland, in the hands of a good winemaker can be very special. I especially enjoyed some Lugana, a Lombardian white wine from the shores of Lake Garda. From further south, Campania came up trumps with Fiano de Avellina, Sannio Falanghino, and Greco di Tufo.

Like any trade fair, glamour is sometimes used to compensate for lack of quality. There were several stands with dolly birds out front to tempt the punters in. Some of our party decided to put a mathematical theory to the test, that the amount of flesh on display is inversely proportional to the quality of the wine. And so it turned out to be. If the stunna on the stand has big knockers and is wearing a very short skirt, chances are the wine will be shite.

Evenings were taken up mostly with visits to producers. I love visiting a producer's vineyard as opposed to his cellar, as I think you can tell a lot more about a winemaker from how he tends his vines. Good wine starts in the vineyard, and if a producer gets that right, then the job in the cellar is that much easier.

So in summary, Vinitaly was vast. I was there for five days and tasted about 300 or so wines. That's maybe 0.02% of all the wines in the fair. It was an amazing experience, and I hope to do it again some day.

So I Turn My Back For Five Minutes…

GerryOS — 2008-04-08T21:43:36+01:00

I got the news of Bertie's falling on his sword as I queued up for the Ryanair flight to Verona from Stansted. As a result I missed all the fall-out, as I had no internet connectivity except for my Nokia E65, and I wasn't planning on paying outrageous data roaming rates.

It was the right thing for Ahern to do, of course. But he should have done it ages ago and sorted out his dealings with the Tribunal away from the pressures of the office of Taoiseach. But it seems that he thought he could brazen it out, and if he kept stonewalling or running to the High Court to try to stymie the Tribunal's work, then it might leave him alone. But it was the evidence of Grainne Carruth that brought him down in the end.

So now, assuming I'm still living in Laois in 2012, and that the county will still be spliced to Offaly for electoral purposes, I'll once again have the opportunity to cast my vote for an outgoing Taoiseach in a general election, as I had in 2002. And didn't take up.

Away For A While

GerryOS — 2008-04-01T21:18:38+01:00

Off to Verona in the morning, to visit Vinitaly for the first time.

Back next Monday.

Ahern Should Go Now

GerryOS — 2008-03-31T08:27:16+01:00

The longer Bertie Ahern allows his difficulties with the Mahon Tribunal to continue, the worse it becomes for everyone involved.

The by now familiar dance goes like this:

- Tribunal uncovers new evidence that appears to contradict previous evidence given by Ahern.
- Opposition parties, media commentators, etc. call for clarification of previous evidence.
- Cabinet colleague sent out to bat for Taoiseach, attacking Tribunal.
- Useful fools like Jackie Healey-Rae (Audio link to Morning Ireland interview) and Eoghan Harris offer their tuppenceworth in support.
- Ahern says he will clarify evidence the next time he attends to give evidence.
- A legal challenge to the Tribunal may feature at some point in the process.

This time it's more serious for Bertie, as now we are hearing the calls for clarification coming from his coalition partners as well as the opposition. We're also hearing more trenchant calls for his resignation, or at least for him to set a date, as the Irish Times did last Saturday.

Given that he won't be before the Tribunal again until May, waiting until his next appearance for clarification simply isn't good enough. What will show up next?

Des O'Neill: So, Mr Ahern, can you explain this substantial lodgement to your account on 14 June 1993?
Bertie Ahern: Well, you see, I won de-de-de-de-de Lotto around dat, eh, time…
O'Neill: And this one here a week later?
Bertie: …twice.

By allowing this charade to drag on, Ahern is undermining the office of Taoiseach, his government, his own party, the credibility of his ministers, and his own legacy. The referendum of the Lisbon Treaty is also in danger of being undermined, as it could easily end up as a referendum on Bertie. (We had an opportunity to vote in that particular referendum last year. It was called the General Election, and we fluffed it.)

He should go, so that this matter no longer distracts from the business of being Taoiseach. He's been in the job for almost eleven years. If he thinks he can present entirely innocent explanations for his varied transactions, then he should do it and get all of this sorted out. If he can manage to wriggle his way out of all of this, then he can be sure that a plum job in the European Commission or elsewhere will await him. If he can't, well that's his own doing. He should stop taking us for fools and move to sort his difficulties with the Tribunal as a matter of urgency.

By the way, if you didn't see the Late Late Show last Friday night, there was a wonderful moment when Eamon Dunphy nailed Eoghan Harris to the wall. I'm not a fan of Eamo by any means, but this was great.

I Can Has Influenz?

GerryOS — 2008-03-25T22:58:04+00:00

Speaking of the Observer, a few weeks ago they ran a feature entitled "The 50 Most Powerful Blogs". It featured mostly the influential American political sites like Huffington Post, Talking Points Memo, etc; as well as the gossipy ones like Perez Hilton and Gawker.

But up there at No 8 was none other than "I Can Has Cheezburger?", the world-famous Lolcat site. Now I can understand it being in a list of popular sites, or it being recognised as an internet publishing phenomenon, but as a "powerful blog"?

If by powerful, you mean ability to set the narrative or break a story of national or international importance, then ICHC is anything but.

moar funny pictures

Mixed Messages

GerryOS — 2008-03-25T21:55:49+00:00

It's for the magazine that I buy the Observer most Sundays. Often the main part of the paper ends up in the green bin having been hardly read at all. I enjoy Jay Rayner's restaurant reviews, particularly the delightfully bitchy ones; and Tim Atkin is to my mind the best wine writer in any newspaper across These Islands™ today.

However, the publishers of the Observer sometimes allow one or two conceits to creep in. The first is the themed issue, like The Gardening Issue or The Fashion Issue. The other is the Guest Editor, usually some pompous celeb. Last Sunday, they did both, and Thom Yorke of Radiohead was in the editor's chair for The Climate Change Issue.

Now, I know that climate change is a pressing issue, but self-indulgent nonsense like this just annoys me. Is Thom Yorke a respected climatologist? No, he's a rock musician, and as such has about as much claim to the editorship of the Observer's Climate Change Issue as any other punter with an opinion on the subject. The least they could have done was get someone with a contrarian viewpoint - a climate-change sceptic, or maybe someone that sees the problem but disagrees with how we are combating it.

The one thing I found amusing among all this po-facedness was the fact that thirteen full pages of the magazine were given over to advertising cars, five of which were double page spreads.

Sole Man

GerryOS — 2008-03-20T22:09:13+00:00

Living in the Midlands means that we don't have the same access to good fishmongers that we had when we lived in de Shmoke. If you like fish, the only way to buy it is from a fishmonger. (I remember a cartoon, years ago, in The Phoenix with two guys behind a fish stall. One says to the other "Well, don't just stand there - mong, for God's sake!")

I don't buy fish in supermarkets, as I find that it usually has at least a day more out of the sea than I would like. If fish isn't absolutely spanking fresh, it's not good.

These days, what we tend to do is to buy in bulk from a fishmonger, have it vacuum packed and then freeze it. Normally, we do this when we go to Cork, where there are several good fishmongers. The best known of them is Kay O'Connell's in the English Market, who have a magnificent display of fish at their stall. If we're in town and want some fish for dinner that night, we usually get it there.

However, if we're buying in bulk, we head for Carrigaline and stock up at Denis Good's. The main business here is fish processing and wholesale, but they have a retail outlet at the front of the building in the industrial estate on the Crosshaven Road. Our regular order is €100 worth of whatever is on offer on the day. Along with staples like salmon and cod, we include things like John Dory, ray, hake, turbot, scallops and lemon sole in the selection. As soon as we get back to my wife's folks' place, the lot goes in the freezer, and when we're going home, it goes in a coolbag with some freezer blocks.

Some purists will say that freezing ruins fish, and that it has to be eaten fresh. In an ideal world, I might agree, but freezing is a compromise I am willing to make, as the end result is far superior to what I have available to me otherwise.

The other consideration is how to cook it. I look on it two ways. If it's big and chunky like a fillet of cod or salmon, roast it. If its thin and flat like sole or plaice, then coat it in seasoned flour and fry it. Some people don't like fish because they think it's bland. Most fish needs something acidic to complement it and bring out the flavour. It can be something as simple as lemon juice, or maybe a salsa verde (lemon juice, capers, garlic and parsley). But best of the lot is a glass of crisp, dry white wine.

Eddie Walks

GerryOS — 2008-03-20T07:59:32+00:00

Finally, Eddie O'Sullivan has done the decent thing and stepped down as coach of the Irish rugby team. Statements from both himself and the IRFU following the disastrous World Cup last year indicated that he was going to brazen it out, but a fourth place finish in the Six Nations sealed his fate.

Lest anyone think I have it in for E O'S, I don't think he's a bad coach, but as his tenure went on, it was clear that he was running out of ideas. To have such a talented group of players and win nothing in seven years (and by that I mean nothing, Triple Crowns don't count as "anything") is a failure that speaks for itself.

The new coach, whoever he will be, will have to shake up the system in a big way. He will need to develop new talent, especially in such key areas as prop and half back, so that we have strength in depth, and also genuine competition for places. He will have to rebuild the shattered confidence of the players and make them fearless of any team they face. He will have to develop a varied game plan capable of overcoming our serial tormentors like France and New Zealand.

The IRFU needs to cast its net widely in its search for a new coach, and a genuine world-class coach won't come cheap. Does anyone have Tony O'Reilly's phone number, by any chance? :)

And finally, I would like to wish Eddie O'Sullivan all the best in whatever he does in his future career.

New Camera

GerryOS — 2008-03-16T22:35:54+00:00

Six years ago, I purchased my first digital camera. It was an Olympus C-200 Zoom, which I bought in Jersey for £200 (about €330 at the time.) It was the size of a sod of turf, had 2.1 megapixels and ran on AA batteries.

I remember feeling smug, seeing it in a camera store in Dublin soon after my purchase, with a price tag of €500 on it. It served me very well over three years, and once I upgraded, I gave it to my Dad, who made good use of it for another while. It finally packed in last summer. I took some very good pictures with it, including this one, which I have framed on my wall at home.

The next camera in my life was a Nikon Coolpix 5200, a very compact point-and-shoot job. At 5.1 megapixels, it was a significant step up from the Olympus. I paid €259 for it, buying it from the Apple Store online.

I realised soon after buying it that it had some serious shortcomings. It was hopeless for use in dark indoor settings, as I discovered at my sister's wedding. Even though it had a red-eye-reduction feature, it still plagued the photos I took, especially those of children. Kids tend to look straight at a camera when a photo is being taken, which leads to red-eye. Last years at a family event, I took a photo of my parents with all of their grandchildren. Nearly everyone of the kids had red-eye. Still, it served us well for three years, recording about 3,500 photos, including many our little darling Aoife.

I had been thinking about upgrading for a while, and for a good while had more or less made up my mind to take the step up to DSLR. It was going to be a Canon EOS400D or a Nikon D40x. Not being able to afford either, the decision was left on the long finger. Over the last few months, the Coolpix was starting to bug us badly, so the issue came to the fore again. The more I thought about it, I realised that a DSLR wouldn't be the right choice this time around. Apart from the money factor, the other main reason was the way that we use our camera. We tend to have it at the ready and take photos on the fly. It slips into the pocket when we're going to Emo for a walk. Neither my wife nor I is serious enough about photography as a hobby to warrant buying a DSLR.

So then, what to buy? In the three years since the last purchase, digital compact cameras have moved on a lot. There is a huge increase in the megapixel count, with compacts available now boasting 12 MP. However, some experts have stated that this doesn't necessarily lead to better photos, as the form factor of a compact negates the benefit of the extra pixels.

Reading many online reviews, one name kept cropping up - Ricoh, and in particular the Ricoh Caplio R7. It has 8.2 MP, and a really good lens.

It has a good few of the features that you see in modern compacts like face recognition, but it's not packed with unnecessary, gimicky features. It has a good 2.7" screen, and the controls are laid out well. Retail in Ireland is about €220-€250. I was in London last week and spotted one in a camera shop in the West End for £154, including a free 1GB SD card. Sold.

It's a nice camera and a definite improvement on the Nikon. I'm still getting used to the various modes and settings, and am having some minor problems with under-exposure, but overall it's taking some really nice shots. Here's a small selection that I have taken in the last couple of days. Click on them to go see full resolution versions.

Aoife looking straight at the camera. Flash used but no red-eye reduction.

Back facade of the house at Emo Court. Good definition, even though conditions were dull.

A daffy up close, using the Macro mode.

A plant in the grounds of Emo Court. The colours came out well on this.

Taking Stock After The Six Nations

GerryOS — 2008-03-16T20:58:42+00:00

Six Nations 2008 will be one that Irish rugby supporters will want to forget in a hurry. Finishing fourth meant that we had our worst final table placing since before Five became Six back in 2000.

Several truths were laid bare during the campaign. The first was that Ireland's dismal World Cup was more than just a 'blip', as had been claimed by the team's coach and the IRFU. Secondly, it proved beyond doubt that Eddie O'Sullivan's position was untenable, and that the IRFU's decision to award him a new four-year contract before the World Cup last September was a big mistake. Thirdly, it demonstrated our shocking lack of strength in depth in key positions. And fourthly, it showed that if you take an average side with a few world class players, under the right coach they can actually win the Grand Slam. In fact, they can even do it twice in the space of four seasons.

Despite a good start at Twickenham yesterday, once England got into their stride, Ireland had no answer. Poor defending let England in for three tries, while a lack of creativity meant that Ireland's last score of the game was registered at seven minutes. Our midfield, lacking talismanic captain Brian O'Driscoll, had a torrid time. We were unlucky to lose Denis Leamy so early in the game, and also to see Geordan Murphy coming off early in the second half. But this didn't lose the game for us. England were just too good and their outhalf and centres made hay.

So where do we go from here? First up, Eddie just has to walk. Someone has to take responsibility for Ireland's dismal form over the last twelve months, and as he is the man in charge of player selection, coaching and motivating the players, then he has to be the one that takes the blame when things go wrong. That's what Wales did after the World Cup, when they - like us - failed to qualify from the pool stage. Gareth Jenkins got the boot, Warren Gatland and Shaun Edwards took over and reinvigorated the team, who went on to win their second Six Nations Grand Slam in four years. Hopefully the IRFU will have the balls to do it, bearing in mind the new contract was signed only six months ago. If they choose not to, expect them to present the Genesis Report as their fig-leaf.

Whoever is the Irish coach going forward has to start looking for new talent. The IRFU needs to facilitate the development of up and coming players by giving them as much opportunity as possible to play their non-international rugby at home with the provinces. If this isn't possible, then the union needs to have someone keeping an eye on Irish-qualified players plying their trade overseas, to make sure that no potential international players go unnoticed. There needs to be genuine competition for places so that the established players don't get complacent. A player that gets dropped has to be assured that he can get back into the team, but will have to earn his place.

Brian O'Driscoll has been captain for several seasons now, and in my opinion, it is time to hand the armband over to someone else. He has done his due, and freedom from the burden of captaincy might help him to concentrate on his game. ROG would be the natural contender for the position, but given his age, we should be looking for another candidate for the longer term.

After this campaign, and the World Cup before it, will have left Ireland's international players with their confidence at a very low ebb. Whoever takes over will have to be able to re-instill the confidence that was once there. He will have to enable them to rediscover their winning mentality, and also to convince them that it really is possible to beat France and to win the Six Nations.

The bottom line is this - Wales have done it, so can we.