RipOff Indo !

It's not just other folks postings that the Irish Independent is ripping off. despite being a proud co-driver of the anti-sterling-price-differential-bandwagon they fail to mention that they too engage in price gouging. The Irish independent is €1.80 but a mere 75p if you buy up North. So it's not just the naughty British multiples who are screwing us but one of our own homegrown companies. I wonder when wil they publish an article about that ? I wonder when will they "call on" the Minister/The NCA/God/Anyone to do something ?

Christy Ring

He hooked de ball

the rebel pedal

the rebel pedal
Originally uploaded by despod

Culture Night in Cork

We took advantage of Culture Lab and went along to the Lifetime Lab (Lee Road) this evening. It was quietish. It's really an environmental exhibition place for schools and groups but has some interesting relics of power and water distribution and the staff were enthusiastic. for kids the encironmental bits are interesting with plenty of hands-on. The boys liked the bit where you could sniff the smell of the dump which we are told will be lanscaped and used for fairs and circuses when it's finally closed. The playground was a hit with children and adults alike and had some excellent equipment - it was a credit to them. Next stop was Blackrock Castle. Halfway along Castle Road we encountered parked cars and it was a case of one-way traffic (though someone was patiently waiting to go d'other way). When we got to the Castle the queues were long so we decided to keep going. Not for long though - we were stopped at the corner as they wanted to try and get the Culture Bus through. So I tightened up the car and waited. Whilst waiting I was chatting to the bus inpector who told me that the place was mayhem (and that road doesn't need a lot of cars to get blocked) and that they had been looking for the Guards to come for quite a while. Eventually the bus came around and we reversed in order to clear the junction a bit more with the Inspector giving directions. We were nearly done when a Guard finally turned up and started to tell us all to reverse in a tone which suggested that nobody thought of it until he did... As we drove on we realised that there were three buses in total and they were all well filled so it seemed to have been a successful night for the Castle. Now why the Guards didn't plan a bit ahead and make Castle Road one-way is another day's story...

Sinking of the Asgard - the rescue video

The French newspaper Ouest-France has a video of the rescue of the crew of the Asgard. It happened at night time so it's a bit dark. It's sad to see her being lost but it's good that all are safe. It would be a shame to see such a proud name go out of use so maybe we can have an Asgard III ?

Hey Iarnrod Eireann - why do we have to queue ?

I was coming back from Dublin last evening and when we got to Heuston I noticed that the queue for the Galway train was almost out to the door. I noticed also that Cork has its own permanent "Queue here" signs. Why do they make us queue ? You don't queue in France, or Germany ... You don't queue in Mallow or Thurles or Kildare .. So why do we have to queue in Dublin and Cork ? Can they not just let people on the platform ? They'll spread out along its length and the tickets can be checked on the train (just like they were last night - 5 minutes after leaving). Well ? Why ? Why also does Heuston have the most intimidating private security presence ? Guys with tattoos and stab vest walking around spoiling for a fight without any ID badges...

Are they at it again ?

Ryanair in the news today - "A RYANAIR pilot and the Irish Aviation Authority are at loggerheads over claims that a landing at Cork Airport had to be aborted because of an obstruction on the runway. The pilot of the Ryanair flight, the 3.45pm from East Midlands on Sunday, told passengers on board the Boeing aircraft that an “unscheduled” plane on the runway prevented him from landing. The pilot initiated a “go-around”, which involved circling and approaching again. The plane landed safely a short time later.... ... However, a spokesman for Cork Airport said there was no obstruction at the point of landing and the reason the pilot had to initiate a “go-around” was because it had been advised it did not have permission to land. " So is it a case of Rynair getting their excuses in first or is it another manifestation of these problems referenced here .

Water in Dublin.

On RTE1 at the moment is a programme about water shortages in Dublin.

Interviewed one concil guy who said that on a good day they have around 1percent spare capacity and on a bad day they don't have any spare capacity.

He was later asked if Vartry and Blessington reservoirs failed would the remaining one (Lucan) be able to cope.

He hummed and hawed and grimaced and eventually replied that he couldn't answer that for security reasons.....

Hmmmm.

Tom Parlon to the Government :

"It's high time that we had a stimulus package". Tonight on the 9PM News he came out with that. He believes that there are 30,000 folk holding off on buying houses. So Tom, tell us what did ye have for the past 10 years ? Seems like a stimulus package to me. So Tom, how about some of ye builders using some of your super-profits from the past 10 years to fund a stimulus package ? Or is it a case that the builders keep the profits from the bumper days and the taxpayers cover their current losses ?