Irish Air Traffic Controller Texts A Plane Through Landing
August 12, 2008 (One Response)
AS INSANE as this might sound, it emerged today that an Irish air traffic controller managed to talk down text down a plane in distress into a safe landing at Cork airport when all computer systems onboard the plane had failed. Read more
Broadband In Ireland Finally Gets Moving
June 28, 2008 (6 Responses)
THE IRISH BROADBAND market got a much needed shot in the arm today with the announcement that ComReg (the Commision for Communications Regulation) has directed Eircom to slash its LLU line share pricing by 65 percent, effectively droppng the wholesale price for LLU line share from €8.41 to €2.94 for other operators in the broadband market. Read more
Hiring A Hitman Is So Much Easier Than You Think…
June 14, 2008 (One Response)
ONE MINUTE you’re searching the ‘Net for a PC Game related website and some cheat codes and then before you know it you’re in court defending your actions in front of judge and trying to explain that you didn’t really intend to sign up as a hitman for hire at that website and that you thought it was all a bit of a joke really. No, really! Read more
Looks Like The Lisbon Treaty Is Going Down In Flames…
June 13, 2008 (No Responses)
I KNOW the polling is not complete yet, but early indications are that despite huge pressure from the combined mainstream political parties for a ‘YES’ vote, the nation seems to have given them, and by association Europe, a big Fuck You! as far as the Lisbon Treaty is concerned. Read more
80% Of Irish People Do Not Understand Lisbon Treaty
April 28, 2008 (4 Responses)
A SURVEY released by the Referendum Commission today shows that - shockingly - approximately 80% of people surveyed do not yet understand what the Lisbon Treaty is about.
This is one of the most important treaties that Ireland has had to consider thus far in relation to European influence over our economic and military affairs, it’s due to go to a referendum in just under seven weeks… and yet most Irish people haven’t got a clue what it’s about yet.
It seems that just 5 per cent said they understood the treaty, while 15 per cent answered that they understood it to some extent. A total of 30 per cent did not know the name or subject of the referendum. I suspect, given recent polling on the topic, that the referendum is going to be one of the closest in living memory, considering the current difference between the Yes and No camps is only a few percentage points, and it’s pretty certain that this situation is only continue to change as the voting day looms ever closer. Read more
Finally, A Eurovision Turkey I Can Watch!
February 6, 2008 (2 Responses)
I MIGHT ACTUALLY WATCH IT this time around, especially if Dustin is on stage!
I refer of course to the ever-present Dustin the Dublin turkey, a famous muppet puppet if ever there was one in Ireland. This turkey has pedigree. He ran for president of the country for a while before being ousted. I think he even got into politics along the way. Rumour has it he has turned down a top job at the Football Association of Ireland (FAI) in order to concentrate on his singing career and more specifically Eurovision 2008.
And why should anyone care? Well you see Dustin is not just a turkey, he’s a hand puppet. That’s right, this stuffed, insane and manky turkey with a hand up his arse is getting almost as much press coverage as Clinton and Obama here in Ireland, it’s even making some international publications and I love it! Really. I mean Ireland has it’s problems these days, but seriously… where else in the world could you get a turkey with this much talent?
The mad turkey - if he makes it to the final stage - will be singing his song entry entitled “Irelande Douze Pointe”. No doubt some sanity will interfere with the plan, but the possibility of having a hand puppet representing Ireland and delivering a truely aweful song in the Eurovision would actually make me want to watch the damn thing, possibly even sober. Can you just imagine the ensuing carnage from the other competitors that would follow, especially if he scored some points in the process? Mmmnnn… fun indeed.
Ah hell, given the state of the political parties in this country I’d even give the damn bird my vote if he decided to run against the Fianna Failers and their bitches the Greens. 
G’wan ya mad thing!
PC In A Tree Concept Wins Dyson Design Award
November 9, 2007 (2 Responses)
I JUST THOUGHT it was worth giving a quick mention to the latest invention from a student in Dublin. The Dyson design award has been picked up by Laura Caulwell, a 22 year old graduate of the National College of Art and Design (NCAD), for her tree shaped PC that allows users to upgrade parts of the computer separately.
Caulwell, who was awarded €2,000 after scooping the top prize, will now go on to represent Ireland at the prestigious International James Dyson Award held in January 2008. She calls her new PC invention the “Cultivate”.
Shaped as a tree, the “Cultivate” allows each part of the computer to be upgraded separately so that as a user’s needs change, the tree grows. The trunk of the tree houses the motherboard, while 10 branches also hold the central processor, RAM, battery, power supply, expansion cards, storage, two speakers, an ambient light, and a mouse. Any of these components can be “plucked” from the tree and sent back to the supplier for upgrade, recycling or remanufacture.
Pretty clever isn’t it?
The Cultivate computer tree also features silver aluminum “leaves” which act as external heatsinks, cooling down each component. They are attached by the user, and can be bent and curled into all manner of shapes so not only is it functional but you can tailor your own PC to suit your astethic tastes. Well done Laura, and good luck in the International competition!
