Life is grand

New house

2006-04-29T21:59:00.000+02:00

Blogger has been good to me but it is time I made use of my paulmwatson.com domain.

So this is the last post I will make here at Blogger. Instead you can now catch my ramblings over at paulmwatson.com/journal. There is a new RSS feed that you can use.

See you on the other side, folks.

2006-04-29T21:02:00.000+02:00

Originally uploaded by * Honest *.

What if a demon were to creep after you one night, in your loneliest loneliness, and say, 'This life which you live must be lived by you once again and innumerable times more; and every pain and joy and thought and sigh must come again to you, all in the same sequence. The eternal hourglass will again and again be turned and you with it, dust of the dust!' Would you throw yourself down and gnash your teeth and curse that demon? Or would you answer, 'Never have I heard anything more divine?

- Friedrich Nietzsche

Procrastination

2006-04-29T18:20:00.000+02:00

Fear of failure... If you flunk a calculus exam, better to loudly blame it on the half-hour study blitz, than admit to yourself that you could have used a tutor the entire semester.

Perfectionism... These people fret that "No one will love me if everything I do isn't utter genius." Such perfectionism is at the heart of many an unfinished novel.

Stand and Deliver

2006-04-28T17:53:00.000+02:00

€14,200 later and they give you a fob of plastic and metal... oh, and a car. Wooooooooohooooooooooo!

2006-04-28T15:58:00.000+02:00

In this article about MySpace the owners are finding it tough to advertise on a large enough scale (they get nearly a billion page-views per day) without pushing away their users. One thing they want to do is get MySpace kids to put adverts on their profiles. How about the incentivise the users? You put an ad on your profile and you get a few cents everytime someone clicks through it. That way whoever is viewing the profile won't feel "a corporate put that ad there."

2006-04-28T15:54:00.000+02:00

Bank: Oh, look, a fax

2006-04-28T15:22:00.000+02:00

Bank: We haven't received the new invoice
Dealer: I sent the invoice
Bank: No new invoice
Dealer: It went through
Bank: Nope
Dealer: I have every incentive to get that invoice to you
Bank: Yeah, but we still don't have it

So who is bullshitting here? The bank or the dealer?

Finance woes

2006-04-28T13:13:00.000+02:00

It just goes to show that incompetence with money and documents is a world-wide problem.

Over the past few days I have been getting my ducks in a row for car finance. AIB were quick to quote but then failed to tell me a few important steps and so the process was slowed down. The dealer has had the car ready since Wednesday morning but can't give it to me until I have signed the car finance papers.

So this morning the bank tells me that the papers are ready and they will fax them to my nearest branch. I take a €10 taxi down to the branch to find out the papers haven't been faxed. 15 minutes later, after phoning the car finance division, the papers are faxed. I sit down to sign them but thankfully before I do I notice the total finance amount is wrong. It says €14,950 when my deal with the dealership is €14,200. The original price of the car was €14,950 but the dealer discounted it by €750 to reach €14,200. The bank says the invoice lists the discount as a deposit. The dealer says the €750 amount on the invoice is clearly marked as a discount.

One hour later and another €10 taxi ride I am back at work and have accomplished zero. The dealer has to send a new invoice, the bank has to reprocess the forms and I have to go back to the bank this afternoon to sign the papers I was supposed to sign this morning.

I don't know whether AIB is incompetent or whether the dealer was trying to screw me over. I'll get ahold of that original invoice and then have a nice long chat with whoever was responsible.

Web2Ireland

2006-04-28T11:15:00.000+02:00

The Web2Ireland event went down in Dublin yesterday . The speakers focused on the business opportunities of Web 2.0 and all in all it was a good event to be at. Most importantly I got to see and meet the Web 2.0 community in Ireland which is bigger and livelier than I thought.

Marc Canter (Broadband Mechanics) spoke in his usual operatic voice about love, peace, free-markets, George Bush and media while Jeff Clavier (Software Only), Judy Gibbons (Accel), Daniel Waterhouse (3i) and Nasse Batley (Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein) spoke on the investment opportunities.

The slides should be available on Web2Ireland soon. I'll post them when they are.

2006-04-26T20:05:00.000+02:00

I'll be up in Dublin tomorrow at the Web2Ireland event. Text me for a pint.

2006-04-26T16:16:00.000+02:00

If you think that a kiss is all in the lips, then you got it all wrong

The Denial Twist - The White Stripes

Yet another successful build!

2006-04-25T15:33:00.000+02:00

You have love an app that is an optimist. CruiseControl.net could just say "Build worked. Carry on slave." Instead it happily pops up this joyous bubble of love and as it pats you on the back sings "Yet another successful build!"

2006-04-25T13:35:00.000+02:00

Anyone else notice that GMail and Blogger have been glitchy the past few weeks? Plenty of down-time and sluggish performance. Just tried to send an email via GMail and I am getting server errors back.

Fiesta time

2006-04-24T14:10:00.000+02:00

I took a 2004 Ford Fiesta LX out for a spin on Saturday and was impressed. The 1.25l engine pulls well enough, the ride is good, the design smart and the interior nicely put together. At €13,000 with 38k on the clock it is reasonably priced and I am sure I can knock several hundred off of that. Across the road though I spotted an even nicer 2005 Ford Fiesta with just 6k on the clock. It is the Steel spec which means nicer alloy wheels and a sun-roof. It is €14,300 though, €1,300 more than the other. I am debating whether it is worth the extra money. The difference will be even greater as that €14,300 price is already €700 down from the original price while I have yet to haggle on the €13,000 price. I'd expect at least €500 off that.

~~Anyone got an opinion?~~ I have bought the red on.

2006-04-21T17:51:00.000+02:00

Mobile networks in Ireland can't be making any money. I use my mobile mainly for texting, about 20 messages a day, and the odd voice-call and haven't had to put any money into my pre-pay package for the past three months. Every month 02 give me €25 free as part of the original sign-up package nearly 5 months ago. It covers me just fine.

Now 02 have gone and cut costs during weekends to insane levels; 1c per minute and 1c per text to other 02 customers.

Will I ever have to pay for mobile calls again?

Shift+Alt+F10

2006-04-21T17:43:00.000+02:00

Shift+Alt+F10 to automatically insert Using statements is one of the single best things about Visual Studio 2005.

The stroked

2006-04-21T15:54:00.000+02:00

I am not a The Strokes fan but I do like their Ask Me Anything track.

I have noticed that I usually pick one of the lesser liked tracks on an album as my favourite. The headliners on albums are great but then there are these little ditties that I fall in love with. 2 minute tracks with crazy tunes and funny vocals that grab me and make me smile like the other highly-polished tracks cannot. On Coldplay's album Parachutes my favourite is the 46 second long self-named Parachutes. On Outrospective by Faithless it is 2 minutes and 43 seconds of Crazy English Summer that leaves me feeling happier than any other song except Song 2 by Blur. Kasabian's U Boat is eerie, quite wonderful. From Arctic Monkeys it is Riot Van that makes me laugh the hardest; "from men with truncheons dressed in hats". The Birmingham accent on "hats" is brilliant.

Friday nano shuffle

2006-04-21T10:49:00.000+02:00

01 Eight Days a Week - The Beatles
02 Let Me Live - Queen
03 Medication - Garbage
04 Love Punch - The Chalets
05 We Will Rock You - Queen
06 Kerplunk - Green Day
07 Tame - The Pixies
08 Screwdriver - The White Stripes
09 Cut Off - Kasabian
10 Eleanor Rigby - The Beatles

All time artists

2006-04-21T10:05:00.000+02:00

Sadly I haven't yet got last.fm to sync with my nano and so it hasn't been updated in awhile. I'd pay for an app that can send play data from my nano to last.fm.

Talk to Dig from Vodaphone

2006-04-20T17:08:00.000+02:00

The operator of the yellow, monster JCB* just outside of my window took a call on his mobile as he was digging. Any law against that?

* The Irish call those big CAT diggers JCBs here as that is the main brand.

Fluxiom released

2006-04-20T15:05:00.000+02:00

The eagerly awaited Fluxiom digital-asset management web-app is out. Sadly, I can't even get into the trial as it requires a credit-card. I understand the reasoning behind this requirement (to stop the same person singing up every 30 days for a new account and so never paying for Fluxiom) but it is a risk a web-app has to take. Don't lock us out chaps. Let me in, let me play for 30 days and then if your app is worth it I will shell out the bucks without quibble.

A real pity as from as from what I can see of the app from the Vitamin review it looks stunning.

Hopefully if enough of us bring the CC requirement problem to Fluxiom's ears we can get it opened up. Even a demo account will be handy.

Ziki digilife aggregator

2006-04-20T10:41:00.000+02:00

There are a few digilife aggregators out there but they are either so awfully designed I run screaming from them or are so over-featured you leave with a headache. Ziki though gets it right. Simple, stylish and easy to use.

Atlantic Challenge South East in Bantry

2006-04-19T15:09:00.000+02:00

Some more, and the last, of the photos from our weekend in Bantry.

Bantry

2006-04-18T15:34:00.000+02:00

Many more photos coming tomorrow. Had a fantastic weekend in Bantry but right now I am battered, bruised, blistered and too hung-over to write much.

2006-04-14T16:45:00.000+02:00

I'd better finish colib off seeing as it is the 19th most wanted web-app on the internet.

DAting

2006-04-14T15:14:00.000+02:00

Don’t talk about yourself. Instead, ask questions that encourage people to talk about themselves

Why it takes just 30 seconds for women to date, mate or drift off - Britain - Times Online

A recursive problem if both take the advice.

Happy Egg

2006-04-14T13:02:00.000+02:00

Happy Easter and Passover and Free Long Weekend to everyone.

I am off sailing for three days and hope you have as good a weekend. Ciao ciao!

Toyota Yaris

2006-04-12T16:24:00.000+02:00

Isn't the 3dr Toyota Yaris in Polar White a lovely looking little car? In my price range too. One simple but nice feature I noticed while watching a video of the car was an aux. audio plug. So you can plug your iPod into your car's speaker system. Nifty.

Maybe

2006-04-12T16:16:00.000+02:00

Maybe
Fiddling around with a new design for paulmwatson.com which has been sitting in the corner patiently waiting for something to be done with it.

Quitting coke

2006-04-12T12:12:00.000+02:00

Two weeks on from booting caffeine from my life has left me largely unaffected. No headaches, no chemical cravings, no physical pains. I have never been one to have mood swings and that hasn't changed either. In the first week I did find myself sleeping more but that has ebbed and flowed into a roughly regular 9 hour pattern.

The worst part of this change has been loosing the comfort of a warm cup cradled in my hands. I have found myself wanting the process of making a good cup of tea more than the tea itself. Found wanting that first scalding sip of liquid more than the coffee itself. Wanted to hear the crack and hiss of a fresh can of coke. To solve this I have started buying hot chocolate which has much of the process without reverting to caffeine. Someone asked that surely drinking hot chocolate is worse but I don't need to slim down (quite the opposite) and one hot chocolate a day is not flooding my body with unwanted chemicals (I have gone for the fat-full, real-sugar option rather than the carcinogenic, but slimming, fat and sugar free version.) I also have made my twice weekly muffin a daily occurence and am drinking far more plain water than I used to.

I didn't expect any health benefits to have kicked in yet and they haven't. So all in all it is going well.

Testing both ways

2006-04-11T16:48:00.000+02:00

I have just been taught the lesson that when testing your code, test for failures too.

Take a method that removes a record from the database. You pass in the Id of the record and it DELETEs it. Initially I tested for an invalid Id (e.g. -1) and for a successful delete. I never tested to see what happens when you pass in a valid Id but an Id that doesn't occur in the database. In this case the code ran as if it were successful. Really it should throw an exception as that Id does not exist in the database.

Test both ways!

Four wheels in Ireland

2006-04-11T15:27:00.000+02:00

As much as I love cycling to work each day a car is fast becoming needed. It just so happens that both work and home is a little bit outside Waterford itself and so public transport is lacking. Before coming to Waterford I had used a taxi exactly once in my life. In the past few months though I have found myself using a taxi a couple times a week. At €8 a pop it isn't cheap. Additionally I have never been good at asking people for lifts. I have had to learn to do so here and people at work have been very generous but it still hurts when I have to ask. Back home in South Africa I was almost always the one giving lifts to other people.

So a car I will buy in the coming weeks. I won't use it everyday but a good few times a week and on weekends for longer trips into the countryside. Something small, cheap and reliable.

Of course that means that as much as I love the look of this Volvo C70, I won't be getting one. What a beautiful and desirable car. Volvo really have upped their game in recent years.

My coming car will more likely be a used Toyota Yaris or Skoda Fabia, both able, reliable cars.

Grand pricks

2006-04-11T14:34:00.000+02:00

Watching Hollywood Grand Prix last night I came to the sad conclusion that Vinnie Jones, the British actor, is a bit of a wanker. Sad because I have always enjoyed his film characters.

Hollywood Grand Prix is a rather fun annual event in which big knobs from the movie industry get together in Los Angeles and race suped up Toyotas around a street circuit in front of 100,000 fans. William Shatner was there of course and was an absolute hoot; crashing into everything he could, denying the accidents and simply buying extra cars when he ran out. A rapper named Xzibit turned out to be a good laugh too, riding Vinnie the whole show. A surprise entrant was Martina Navratilova who showed up most of the boys by coming third. You could see her athletic discipline come to the fore in the show as she stuck to the racing line and held technique above pure speed. Then we had Frankie Muniz who plays Malcolm in Malcolm in the Middle. The ever-young boy actor who must be 50 by now. He had been taking racing lessons and was considered "professional." His professional nature showed during one incident where he got out of his car in a state, refused to take his helmet off and stormed away from the press. Lighten up kid, it is a charity fun race.

Vinnie though really disapointed. The show, British produced, was centered around him and initially he reckoned he was going to cream the field and come first. After some practicing he downgraded that to 3rd. Then after missing most of the practice sessions he went further and said 4th. Eventually after qualifying way back he simply said "If Shatner beats me, I am walking home."

Hilariously he spent most of the race dicing with Shatner. I say dicing but it was more that Shatner drove into every possible wall and barrier while Vinnie tip toed around the track. Shatner would go wide in a corner, Vinnie would come up next to him and then somehow Shatner would pull ahead down the straight. Maybe Vinnie is too used to all the stretch-Hummer limos we saw him being driven around in.

Vinnie didn't get to walk home but only because Shatner managed to call off the race by precipitating a massive accident. I have no doubt that if Captain Kirk had managed to stay in one piece, he would have beaten Vinnie Jones. In the end Jones managed 10th out of a field of 20 or so.

So much for British skill and so much for Vinnie Jones being a deserving chap.

Checking for "null" Guids

2006-04-11T13:16:00.000+02:00

In .NET a Guid cannot be null (unless you use the ? qualifier). However you may still want to check if a Guid has been set or not. For this you can use Guid.Empty which looks for an all-zero Guid.

2006-04-11T11:53:00.000+02:00

For the 9th day in a row the Sunny South East lives up to its name. The previous 8 days have been all of them, beautiful spring days. This morning it was overcast and raining on my cycle into work but now the clouds are clearing.

ExecuteScalar and null

2006-04-10T13:41:00.000+02:00

Can anyone explain why this doesn't work:

command.CommandText = "SELECT [Token] FROM Clients WHERE 

    [Token] ='" + client1.Token + "'";

Guid result = new Guid(command.ExecuteScalar() as string);

While this does work:

command.CommandText = "SELECT [Token] FROM Clients WHERE 

    [Token] ='" + client1.Token + "'";

Guid result = new Guid(command.ExecuteScalar().ToString());

The first snippet returns null. The second returns the requested Guid. The only difference is as string and .ToString(). This seems to only happen on uniqueidentifier columns in .NET 2.0.

(And don't wonder why the code doesn't seem to have a purpose, it is a bit from a larger a unit test.)

Tags: .net 2.0, code, development, bug, data, string

iPod nano gripe #001

2006-04-07T20:09:00.000+02:00

I do wish the nano would continue to play music when jacked into my PC via USB. As soon as you plug a nano into your PC, the music stops.

UPDATE: Thanks to Patsy for the help. While the nano will still cut out when you plug it into your PC you can hit the eject hardware button on your desktop. This will leave the nano to charge but let you carry on listening to music.

2006-04-07T19:20:00.000+02:00

I was just wondering just how Arctic Monkeys are going to follow up their first album.

SQL SMO performance and preloading

2006-04-07T18:21:00.000+02:00

The SQL Management Objects in SQL2005 are a nice replacement to SQL-DMO. I was having performance problems while enumerating through objects in a database though. I wanted to filter out any system objects using the IsSystemObject property of Table, View and StoredProcedure. The if (object.IsSystemObject) call though took a sub 5 second loop and turned it into over a minute of crunching. Why on earth was a simple bool check fuxoring performance so badly?

Turns out that IsSystemObject is not returned as part of the initial data. SMO is running off and fetching that property from SQL Server 2005 each time you hit it. Ouch.

Euan Garden on SqlJunkies explains the reasons for this and tells you about the Server.SetDefaultInitFields setting which preloads that specific property. Performance is restored.

Mauled mailing lists

2006-04-05T14:22:00.000+02:00

How is one supposed to keep track of and use a mailing list that has over 200 new items per day? I subscribe to the Ruby on Rails mailing list via RSS and it is next to useless. Between useless and annoying. I'd prefer it if the feed only listed new topics, not replies to existing ones. Some kind of digg/delicious/reditt mechanism might help too.

As it is I will keep the subscription but not keep track of it. I'll use it as a search archive.

Mix 06 Report

2006-04-05T13:14:00.000+02:00

I have put together a simple report of what I saw and heard at the Microsoft Mix 06 conference in Las Vegas.

Mix 06 Report

2006-04-05T12:11:00.000+02:00

Unfortuanatley I cannot spell unfortuanately. It is very unfortunate.

2006-04-05T11:09:00.000+02:00

I hit 58kph on the bike this morning. Granted it was downhill but it isn't the steepest hill and I normally only hit 47kph on it. I then noticed I was passing a car and realised I was 8k over the speed limit for that road. What a blast.

We have also had beautiful weather here in Ireland for the past three days. Bright, sunny days from 7am to 7pm. It is a nice change after a few weeks of rain. It is however still a bit nippy, my skin is flushed and my fingers aching after a morning ride.

2006-04-04T20:24:00.000+02:00

"I cannot spell but I can write."

Someone must have said that before.

Vegas Costs

2006-04-04T11:58:00.000+02:00

Las Vegas is quite an expensive city, at least along The Strip and in the tourist areas it is. Here are a few notables:

2 Coors (a vile beer) at The Venetian; $10.68

Miso soup at the Stratosphere; $3.25

Eel rolls at the Stratosphere; $7.95

California rolls at the Stratosphere; $7.95

Sake at the Stratosphere; $6

Average two-bed room rate at The Mirage; $170

Kobe beef burger at The Mirage; $19

Sirloin steak; $38

Glass of coke/Pepsi/Sprite; $3

Fries at The Mirage; $7

Shot of Tanqueray Gin; $7

Taxi from airport to The Mirage; $18

Los Angelese t-shirt; $19

Vegas playing cards; $3

The Big Shot (a ride) on the Stratosphere; $7

The Kobe beef burger was completely worth the $19 and Brian says the $38 for the sirloin was equally so. With the rides on the Stratosphere don't pay down below. Go up to the top and look out for a guy pushing around a small cart, you will get half-price on the ride prices, about $4 instead of $7/$8. You also have to be wary of tax. Prices listed are not what you pay, you still have to add tax which varies. I stopped bothering having the right amount ready when ordering.

Lost Vegas

2006-04-04T11:23:00.000+02:00

Back in the 17th century the Spanish found the valley and called it the meadows. The mountain encircled valley provided an oasis from the desert surrounds. It turned out to be a poor gamble as now, 300 years later, the meadows are gone and we have the desert city known as Las Vegas.

There I was in what used to be a private jet, but is now a fake-leather clad 50 seater flying bus with a comedian known as Latisha serving us drinks, descending on the fabled city. I was 26, single, of questionable habits and carrying enough dead presidents to light several Cubans. Stretching before me were 5 easy days of a conference and 4 nights which I hoped wouldn't be quiet so easy. Vegas did not strike me as my kind of town but when in Rome...

You land in what can only be called a casino with a runway. Stepping out of the walkway from the plane the first thing you see are slot machines. Banks and banks of them. Thank you, bling, for, bling, flying, bling, Virgin, bling, Atlantic, bling, airways. The strangest part of this scene is that travelers, fresh off a 12 hour flight from London, do gamble. Before even going through airport security you can sit down and get into debt. You don't even have to collect your baggage first. Just leave it trundling lonely around the baggage claim as you cash out. Sorry to those suckers who gave their loose change to the starving Ethiopian kid on the blue packets.

Through security and out onto the road where you are efficiently taxied straight into the, neon, glowing heart of Las Vegas. I'll be honest, I was expecting more. I expected a barrage of light and sound. If the theme tune from the Las Vegas TV show kicked in then all the better. But by the second set of traffic lights I asked why I wasn't on my third jack and rocks? Why was my traveling companion not snorting lines off of the back of a smut-card and why, good lord why, wasn't there a naked woman in our taxi already. Instead I noticed tall but hardly towering hotels, bright but barely blinding displays and sidewalks with enough space to park a stretch Hummer between the groups of waddling Japanese. I also noticed a McDonalds, a Dennys, a dozen StarBucks and, the highlight so far, an In 'n Out which I had never seen before. Wow, hamburgers.

I am not jaded. I am not cynical or wordly wise, I am easy to please for Pete's sake but Las Vegas in that first hour was underwhelming. I knew by the time we got to our hotel that Vegas had been commercialised. Sure, it has always been about the money but back then the money was dirty and the streets dirtier. 100 dollar bills were rolled up and used properly back then, they weren't exchanged for a quarter-pounder and 90 in change. When you couldn't pay your debts you had to talk to Luigi or Mario, not phone the gamblers helpline and get a three year residual loan at favourable rates. McDonalds, Dennys, StarBucks. Commercialised by the same bland, generic-Viagra using, Westernised globalisation mega-brands that make 100 chain outlets a niche experience.

Fuck you Ronald McDonald for turning Las Vegas into Disneyland for gamblers.

At this point I burnt my copy of Fear and Loathing, was glad Hunter was dead so that he wouldn't have to see this and checked-into The Mirage. Quite apt I thought.

A mirage is what it is, beckoning in the distance with a seductive shimmer of golden hips. What you get are a bunch of overgrown rocks, some brackish water and a burnt out palm-tree.

Around 1am that first night after dragging the strip I sat down in a non-descript canteen and considered what I had seen. I was struck most by the lack of sin in Sin city. How does a town with such a reputation manage to feel so tame? I had been warned about the smut-card peddlers but chaps, you get hassled better by the Salvation Army. Advice was to stear clear of the old Strip but when I went it was the most charming part of Vegas, if one degree above zero can be considered charming. Hookers are plentiful but I was propositioned by a Greek selling lamb gyros on Santorini with more skill than these girls. And if you have a problem with the scantily, but hardly daringly, clad girls in the numerous billboards around the city then, my friend, avoid Europe.

Maybe the classic titty-bar sums it up best. On the flight down a martial arts expert native to Las Vegas lit up as he found out it was my first time in Vegas. Oh, he beamed, you are going to love the titty bars. Anywhere that uses the word titties to label what are swaying, pneumatic, sweat-covered breasts attached to lithsome, gyrating strippers has as much sin as my local Baptist ministry. Mary-Anne from fifth-grade has titties. 15 years ago I sniggered at the word titties. 14 years ago I grew out of calling them titties. The Moulin Rouge does not have titties. Amsterdam does not have titties. Las Vegas has Disneyland titties.

What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas. But if nothing happens in Vegas...

At least this is all true when sticking to The Strip. I didn't venture much off it. To those who will write and say Sin City is off The Strip then all I can say is that isn't what Las Vegas sells itself as.

Before I get to the fun I did have, for surprisingly fun I had in Las Vegas, I have to dither on excess. Las Vegas has excess in spades but it is all the wrong sort. There is no heart or soul in the excess. No mad, fearsome lords of Las Vegas sprinkling the strip with crazier creations. Instead you get crumbling copies of the rest of the world run by suits with profit goals and revenue models. Italy in the Belagio, France in Paris, Egypt in Luxor, Venice in the Venetian. Each and every one a stable, well run business that pays its bills, keeps the carpets clean and asks that you keep your voice down for the other guests.

I detested that Las Vegas is building Europe. The Belagio is almost beautiful, almost stylish and elegant. It hides its excess better than the rest. I didn't come to Las Vegas for class. I came for crass. I love European sensibility and charm but instead of flying half-way around the world to Vegas I could have taken a 2 hour, &euro5 RyanAir flight to the South of France. I could have seen the Gugenheim at the Gugenheim, Venice in Italy and the Caribbean from a yacht in the Caribbean.

I wanted towering, depraved monuments to megalomaniacally apogeed owners. I got a scaled down Eiffel Tower instead.

The people in Vegas are great. I haven't been anywhere else in the U.S.A. but I have never felt so happy paying 5 bucks for a Latte as I did in Las Vegas. Everywhere I went I was greeted with a big welcome, bigger smiles and lots of how'you'doins. You could ask for anything and while you wouldn't always get it they'd be sure to apologise for the lack and offer an extra side of fries. You could hail a passing working girl in the middle of the casino and ask for the way out. With a drawl and a smile you'd get directions. A friend who came down from Stockton, California to see me in Vegas said my accent did the trick but, you know, it felt a good deal more genuine than that.

I remember sitting one 3am with Lee from the U.K. at a bar. We had struck out on The Strip and were sliding through our G&Ts listening to a handful of Venetian employees off-duty. A bouncer, a waiter and a call-girl shooting the breeze without a care in the world. About this time Ted the barman told us that if we gambled on the machines built-into the bar then we would get free drinks. At $15 a round and only $10 to play the machine we thought this was a good deal. I am a recovering gambling addict (not really) and Lee is a conflicted Buddhist though so we weren't about to gamble. Thankfully Lee is shameless as they come and hollered over to the call-girl; Girlfriend, girlfriend, come blow our money for us, we want our free drinks.

And she did. This Amazonian model of a woman slipped her way over to our side of the bar, sat down between us and after some confusion as to why we weren't gambling ourselves, gambled for us. For the next hour or so we sat there chatting and laughing, cracking jokes with the nearly empty bar and fed the call-girl money whenever she lost it all. Eventually it came to an end and with a Dutch kiss from this well spoken but easy going lady of the night we bling, bling, blinged our way off slot machines back to our rooms. It was a surreal experience.

Another night we had a conference party at the Tao where free drinks and the cheesiest music this side of a Beach Boys bar led me up onto some tables to dance with a notable celebrity (of the geek, I.T. kind mind you.) That night ended with the best hamburger I have had in my life. A nearly foot high beast seared from the flanks of a Kobe-beef cow. Never has paying $19 for a burger been so easy.

There were Norwegians, Germans, Swiss, French, Brits, Irish and Americans who were all up for a good time. I met a beautiful Swedish woman whose company alone made Las Vegas worth it.

Honestly the people of Las Vegas, foreigners and local, did a lot to make the trip an experience to remember. Las Vegas is dull and tame, a shadow of what it must have been in past decades. But the good folk of it, they live on.

Double gent

2006-04-03T19:10:00.000+02:00

While reading through Double Agent I was struck by how few of the manly aspects encountered I shared. It wasn't so much that I don't bowl, play poker, go to titty bars, smoke cigars, crack homophobic jokes or call weaker men "girly". It is more that I tend to do those things in a different way to how the men potrayed in the article do it. Bowling is an enjoyable game, I don't do it for the social scene or to escape my wife (of which I don't have one to escape from in any case.) I would smoke a cigar but not for the opportunity to kick back and bad mouth women with the lads. I don't actually go to titty bars - even calling them titty bars makes me squirm - but if I did it wouldn't be to bond with my fellow man. Come to think about it, that is the crux of it; male bonding. Is it still so prevalent? It seems to me that the male youth of today are far less into crotch adjusting, after-game showers and all that horse-play called male-bonding. Frankly I am rather pleased, it never appealed to me.

No bother

2006-04-03T17:51:00.000+02:00

Foreigner: Oh shit, sorry mate, I didn't mean to just drive over your foot.
Irishman: No bother.

The Irish say that an awful lot. Any problems? No bother.

I wonder if this is where the Aussie saying of "no worries" originated?

2006-04-03T15:57:00.000+02:00

First I wrote:

And I dream with eyes wide open.

and then I drew:

.
/" |:|
|:|
|:|
/:/: : \`/
`

Bizarre what watching Solaris in the dark will do to you.

Bloglines feature req. #001

2006-04-03T15:08:00.000+02:00

A nice feature for Bloglines would be a "Mark below as unread" on each item. It already has a "Mark all new" feature which works for mistakes but not so well for when you are interrupted reading through 200 items.

The feature would simply mark the items below the clicked item as unread, allowing you to come back later and carry on reading.

2006-04-03T13:29:00.000+02:00

My April Fool's joke was to not post or go online for a whole day. People would then think I am dead and start to panic (civilisation was supposed to collapse as well.) Sadly nobody noticed. So I guess the joke is on me.

;)

Internet Explorer 7 find

2006-03-31T17:48:00.000+02:00

It struck me the other day while testing out Internet Explorer 7 that I have not heard anyone ask never mind had an answer to the question of why IE7 does not implement a similar Find on Page solution to Firefox. IE7 persists in popping up the blasted dialog window for finding text on the current page. I realise some users might struggle with the Firefox way at first but we can't be stuck on a few users holding back everyone else forever.

2006-03-31T11:58:00.000+02:00

My sister will be getting married on the 28th of October 2006.

It is the same date as my mother's birthday which is 4 days after mine and 6 days after my dads. October is going to be a hectic month.

Winners in defeat

2006-03-29T17:32:00.000+02:00

Last night saw the Murphys Live 2006 final go down at Cyprus Avenue in Cork. Ashley Sheehan & the Mute battling it out with Lotus Lullaby for the grand prize while The Walls headlined the gig. Good music, good craic and even though the better band, in my opinion, didn't win it was a good night. Congratulations to Lotus Lullaby. I think the choice is right as Lotus Lullaby are more commercial and their front-man engages the audience better but I still far prefer Ashley Sheehan's music.

Seeing Cork was interesting. The landscape changed somewhat as we travelled from Waterford and I never realised how much bigger Cork city is from Waterford city. It reminded me of a mini-Dublin with a canaled-river running through the city center and bridges spanning it. There is a lack of chippers in Cork though. We had to wander up some side streets to find a dodgy Indian chipper that was open at 1am. Good thing most of our party were late in getting back to the bus. It is also impossible to bribe the gas station guy to sell you wine after 10am. We offered him one of the bottles (it was a 3 bottles for €20 deal), we offered him money, we offered him Eimear. He refused them all.

We toured up from Waterford in a bus which meant getting home at three in the morning for an eight 'o clock wake-up to get to work today. I have many photos to get through but first I need some sleep.

So nice one Murphys, the two gigs I have been to were grand.

2006-03-29T16:47:00.000+02:00

I really could do with a cup of coffee right now. Not for the caffeine but just for the gut warming sensation and the feel of a hot mug in my hands.

Microsoft Atlas #001

2006-03-28T16:15:00.000+02:00

If you get an error of window.attachEvent is not a function when using Microsoft Atlas then you need to include the AtlasCompat.js file too. Such are the joys of trying to do Atlas without all the ASP.NET wizardry. So far prototype is a lot better in getting started with.

2006-03-28T15:18:00.000+02:00

You have got to love the world wide web. Carine asked me what a panini was. The first thing I could think of was to go to Flickr and try the panini tag. It worked. Now imagine trying to explain what a panini is to a friend on the other side of the world without a photograph of one.

NewsVine and feeds

2006-03-28T12:29:00.000+02:00

NewsVine is an informative news site mixing up "official" and user generated content in a social framework. It really does deliver interesting and relevant content. I subscribe to it via a feed and here is where it all falls down. The feed pumps out 200 new items a day. There is no way I am going to read through 200 news items every single day. I'd prefer what most news sites do, restricting it to the top 20 items of the day.

Till then I won't be using NewsVine, that is how much my feed aggregator defines what I view on the web these days.

2006-03-28T11:14:00.000+02:00

Have you ever thought of revealing all, kicking the skeletons out of the closet and parading them down Main Street so that one day when you become famous nobody will be able to dig anything up on you that you hadn't already honestly revealed?

2006-03-27T17:02:00.000+02:00

And I get lonely, but I ain't that lonely yet
Yeah I get lonely, but I ain't that lonely yet

from the White Stripes. Good track.

Lessons in dialogs

2006-03-27T16:09:00.000+02:00

And what happens if I click Cancel? Is that different from No?

Really chaps, think your dialog messages and button choices through.

Nymph to Eve

2006-03-27T14:55:00.000+02:00

How on god's green earth does Niamh end up being pronounced Neve? Irish name pronounciation is a study in the black-arts I tell you. Another one is Siobhan which is pronounced Chevaun. Keh? Come again?

And just to hammer home the point my Irish mate just told me how I bastardised the two names above. I had Niamph and Siobahn originally. Bloody english eh?

Drama

2006-03-27T11:22:00.000+02:00

Drama
Originally uploaded by Paul Watson.

My drug addiction

2006-03-27T10:36:00.000+02:00

While watching Requiem for a Dream, a truly screwed up movie by the way, I decided to see what it would be like cutting as much caffeine from my diet as possible.

An average day sees me downing five cups of tea and four cups of coffee with the odd two or three coca colas a week. This is far down from the 20 cups of tea I was mainlining last year but it is still enough caffeine each and everyday to make a difference.

From past experience of going cold turkey on tea I know I am going to get headaches and feel awful for a few days. In the past though I was still drinking coffee so I wonder how much worse this time around is going to be?

Movie: A History of Violence

2006-03-25T20:26:00.000+02:00

A History of Violence is an excellent film. Very well paced. Simple but effective. Thanks to Jon for recommending it to me.

Jet lag

2006-03-24T15:39:00.000+02:00

So for my first multi time-zone trip I have to say either jet-lag is far less than everybody says it is or I managed to skip it with some advanced Vegas party voodoo. I flew Ireland to Las Vegas and then back again within 5 days. They say West to East is worst but I feel great back here in Ireland. I got in a solid 7 hours sleep last night after arriving home. My appetite is fine too. I do feel a bit confused as to what day it is since I effectively lost a day on the way back but the post-it note I have on my desk saying "Today is friday!" is helping with that.

I think what helped is I went a bit AWOL in Vegas. I'd get to bed at the earliest 1am and be up by 7am with a full day conferencing and then the evenings filled with night-life. So I was tired while I was there and there were no regular times for my body to get used to. I also had several late nights and early mornings before I flew (one thanks to St. Patricks day.) So most likely jet-lag was masked by the general tiredness which was masked by the adrenaline and go-go nature of 4 nights in Vegas.

It might just all catch up with me this weekend which is *checks post-it note* tomorrow.

Mix 06 and Vegas

2006-03-22T02:58:00.000+02:00

Just a quick one to say I am in Vegas and at the Mix 06 conference. Best bit of the conference so far?

Dancing on a table with Tim O'Reilly.

Seriously, that happened. We had the Mix party last night at the TAO night club and Tim got up on a table running the one side of the dance floor and started dancing like a wild man. Awhile later I joined him up there and we got in a chorus-girl line and showed our legs. Cha cha cha. This was after a good many drinks of course. What a blast.

I also met Anil Dash at the party which was an honour and spotted Tantek Celik at one of the talks. Apparently the chap behind JSON.org is here too. Actually the list of digerati who are here goes on. I wasn't sure a Microsoft event could pull them but it did.

Time for another talk, see you all on top of the tables.

MIX06

Arvie

2006-03-16T19:26:00.000+02:00

It turns out that arvie is not internationally recognised. I thought it had permeated Western culture at least enough that I could use it in Ireland (ever watch Crocodile Dundee? He says arvie.)

Arvie means afternoon. The Australians shorten and vowelify everything.

2006-03-16T18:55:00.000+02:00

It is snowing in Waterford.

Roll on St. Patricks day. It is going to be a nipper. We are also launching the ACSE boat down at Waterford Castle tomorrow. I sure as hell hope I don't fall in the water. Freeze my toasties off I would.

First aid day one

2006-03-16T17:51:00.000+02:00

First rule of first aid? Call an ambulance.
Second rule of first aid? Call an ambulance.

That is something the paramedic is making very clear to us as we go through a TSSG sponsored first aid course. It is especially true when administering CPR. The medic stressed to us that less thank 1% of people who get CPR alone will survive. It is merely a holding tactic, keeping the patient alive until the ambulance arrives and a defibrillator can be applied. This isn't Baywatch, you don't give mouth-to-mouth, save a life and then enjoy a pint with her an hour later. If she is lucky she'll be out of hospital in a week. After defib, after other advanced paramedic care.

2006-03-15T16:47:00.000+02:00

Living in a foreign country has its perks. For instance I can whistle the Oros man theme tune amongst my fellow cubicle workers and nobody gets annoyed. They all think it is a fun sounding South African ditty. Little do they know.

Crazy 8s

2006-03-15T13:30:00.000+02:00

According to LoveHappens this photo is a depiction of intense violence or racism. Pardon? It is me dressed up as a punk for a fancy-dress party where everyone had fun. They also rejected another photo of mine for being blurry. Keh? If it were any sharper my arm would be able to cut the tree down.

The whole LoveHappens process has been a bit dodgy actually. They blocked my profile because it had the word "bitch" in it (in the phrase "Inspiration is a bitch".) A good few pages simply don't work, complete forms are marked as incomplete and yet they want to charge for it? Plenty other better dating sites out there folks, ones more open, adult and fun. I am 26, not 16, I don't need to be given grief that this photo is violent or racist or that I can't say the word bitch.

2006-03-14T19:01:00.000+02:00

My blog is worth $6,774.48.
How much is your blog worth?

My blog may have a calculated worth of $6,774.48 but nobody would pay that for it which means it is not worth $6,774.48 but rather, lets say, $5. Anyone want to up the ante? Say, $5 and a quarter?

2006-03-14T18:04:00.000+02:00

If the occasional arsehole thought "easy" meant "indiscriminate", or that enjoying sex was the equivalent of "asking for it"

from Bedtime Stories.

That is a good explanation I think. That easy doesn't mean you take every opportunity.

The ess of it

2006-03-14T17:23:00.000+02:00

Actor. Actress. Steward. Stewardess. Man. Woman.

How come then not authoress or poetress or teacheress? Author, poet and teacher apply to woman or man. Or are these activities beyond silly gender issues? I thought for awhile that actress may have come about because initially acting was for men only, women were largely forbidden from it. Have women ever been forbidden from writing or teaching? I imagine so. Certainly writing is a male dominated sphere (and recent events are really just the begining of a move towards an open and equal publishing world.)

On the other side; prostitute, I'd say, has largely been a female activity through the ages (because of us bastard men.) Even now if a man is a prostitute it is clarified with "a male prostitute" while you will rarely see the clarification "a female prostitute."

Does gender change in an activity breed the ess but only in one direction? Actor to actress for instance. If actor meant a woman originally would actress have come to mean a man? I doubt it.

2006-03-14T13:35:00.000+02:00

Ah, sweet relief. My U.S. visa arrived glued into my passport today. Vegas, see you Saturday.

2006-03-13T20:26:00.000+02:00

Bollocks. Someone has ripped my debit card off for the sum of €750. I went into a sweet store two weeks back and bought a chocolate and some water for €5. Since then I hadn't checked the balance on my card but thought I'd better do that today. It was much lower than I was expecting. So I log into internet banking and see that right after I was in that sweet store my card was used for a purchase of €75, then a minute later for €170 and then a minute later €450. Someone testing the limit on my card.

Now you tell me, would I be spending over €750 at a sweet store?

Hopefully AIB can handle this well and refund me. I feel shit for the banks having to refund this kind of rubbish as I am pretty sure the kids who did this will never be caught. Though I am pretty sure AIB has some good insurance. All the same, someone stole money and they aren't going to get caught at such a small scale.

The Constant Gardener

2006-03-13T19:30:00.000+02:00

Having watched and enjoyed The Constant Gardener I picked up the original John le Carre novel thinking the extra detail and development a book can provide would only make the story stronger. In parts the extra detail was helpful but overall the point, intensity and drama of the movie was quite lost in le Carre's ramblings. I have not read any of le Carre's other novels so perhaps this is normal.

Two aspects in particular I found lacking in the novel. The landscape of Kenya and the Sudan was brilliantly brought to life in the movie. In the book however I felt nothing of the Kibera slum, the stark Sudan lakes or the savanah of Kenya. The movie was particularly strong on this side but I have had as vivid images from books before, just not in this one. The other was the love affair between Tessa and Justin. Rachel Weisz did an excellent job (she won the Oscar for it) and the director portrayed such fine, loving, living scenes between the two that the meagre words in the novel left me cold.

So for once, a movie outdid the book.

Homesick cricket

2006-03-13T14:28:00.000+02:00

Australia fire out 434 runs in 50 overs at the Wanderers. South African fans in the crowd wonder whether to go home at lunch, the Proteas are toast, not a chance they will come out and chase four hundred and thirty four runs. That is the highest ODI score in history. Until a few hours later when Boucher hits a four to give South Africa the win, 438. The highest ODI score in history. Four hundred and thirty eight. 26 sixes in the match in total. Four hundred and thirthy eight. The Australian captain tells it like it is; "They shouldn't have got that."

The cricket world is stunned. Indians turn from celebrating their win over England to stand in awe of both Australia and South Africa. The English must be gob smacked, the Pakistanis bowled over. Even the fast Sri Lankans are stupefied. Brian Lara himself is probably staring hard at his bat right now wondering how it is possible.

And in Ireland? Nobody had a clue. The papers don't contain a single word about the game. All I can do is email mates back home. This is the first time since I have been in Ireland where I have felt homesick. Homesick for that feeling of driving around Cape Town cheering on our cricketing heroes, of knowing every face I see on the street is thinking; "Those boys, our boys, how'zat!"

Crapulous

2006-03-13T13:02:00.000+02:00

A good word for Irish living:

crapulous \KRAP-yuh-lus\, adjective:
1. Suffering the effects of, or derived from, or suggestive of gross intemperance, especially in drinking; as, a crapulous stomach.
2. Marked by gross intemperance, especially in drinking; as, a crapulous old reprobate.

These were the dregs of their celebratory party: the half-filled glasses, the cold beans and herring, the shouts and smells of the crapulous strangers hemming them in on every side, the dead rinsed-out April night and the rain drooling down the windows.
-- T. Coraghessan Boyle, Riven Rock

Presentation tip #001

2006-03-10T16:09:00.000+02:00

Don't make your background black with white writing. Why? When it comes time to print off handouts, you will use up all the black ink in the printer.

2006-03-10T14:16:00.000+02:00

Note to Irish plumbers; Replacing valves on radiators while the system is on is not a good idea. You end up firing a 1 inch slug of metal across the room and spraying black sludge all over the office wall. Fortunatley the water was only mildly warm, not scalding hot.

2006-03-09T22:48:00.000+02:00

Round-hitch, half-hitch, reef, bowline, long-splice, half-splice, crown-splice and double sheet-bend. Spar-hitch, rolling hitch, halyard slip hitch and round turn & two half hitches.

These are the things we do in the dark.

Kiera also taught me how to tie a knot handy for throwing bodies overboard and which, when yanked, lets them sink to the deep.

2006-03-09T19:31:00.000+02:00

A kind friend told my ex to read a particular journal entry. She, the ex, after reading it, told me over SMS that "i wil always refer 2 photos as fodies and it will never change."

haha. She always was a naughty one. Now if I could only find a word that bugs the hell out of her in return.

2006-03-08T13:00:00.000+02:00

I wish my ex read my journal.

Fodie

2006-03-07T17:51:00.000+02:00

Could anyone and everyone who knows me please not call photographs, fodies. Seriously, it bugs me. They are photographs or photos. Not photies, fodies, fodos or any other bastardisation from pre-school.

* Don't take it personally, I'm just bitching.

2006-03-06T14:06:00.000+02:00

Oh this is great. One of the visa questions is "List all countries you
have entered in the last ten years (Give the year of each visit)".

Ireland (2005, 2006), England (2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005,
2006), Scotland (2004), Greece (2003), Botswana (2004, 2006), Zimbabwe
(1997, 2001), Namibia (1997, 2005), South Africa (1997-2006), Germany
(2005, 2006), Austria (2005), Zambia (2001).

I am not boasting, but the fricking form is not big enough.

Beta refreshers

2006-03-06T12:14:00.000+02:00

I don't know about you but I have signed up for an awful number of betas in the past few months. They trickle in every week, announcements of beta-launches, private invites and so on.

My problem is that half the time I cannot remember what the cutely named service is about anymore. I signed up 6 months ago, I sure as heck don't remember what Flagr or Skobee or MyLeftUdder does.

So as part of the beta announcement, please include a "Remind me what this is about again?" link, please.

JSON + Ajax + Ruby on Rails

2006-03-03T18:38:00.000+02:00

While I would love to be using E4X, it isn't viable yet. So JSON it is. Here is how I got a simple JSON example working with Ruby on Rails over Ajax^[1].

I'll assume you have a Rails project up and running with at least one model, controller, views etc.

First you want to install the JSON gem; gem install ruby-json

Then go into your model's code and put in the following require; require 'json/objects'. While still in the model add a to_json method with the following code:

result = Hash.new
self.class.content_columns.each do |column|
    result[column.name.to_sym] = self.send(column.name)
end

result.to_json

Now off to the controller file you go. For this daft example I create the following method:

def jsonbit
    @link = Link.find(params[:id])
    @headers["Content-Type"] = "text/plain; charset=utf-8" 
    render_text @link.to_json
end

Then in your view you want to use prototype to fire off an Ajax call e.g.

<%= remote_function(:complete => "var x = eval('(' + request.responseText + ')'); alert(x.title);", :url => { :action => :jsonbit, :id => link.id }) %>

So in that what we do is fire off a call to the jsonbit method with a model id and it returns JSON which is evaluated by JavaScript and one of the properties is alerted out.

Naturally you can return a collection of data and then loop through it using JavaScript too.

[1] Technically it should be Ajaj (Asynchronous JavaScript and JSON.) But really, nobody cares. So Ajax it is.

Jer's New Shirt

2006-03-03T18:04:00.000+02:00

Jer's New Shirt
Originally uploaded by kk+.

Bauer or Boromir

2006-03-03T17:48:00.000+02:00

I was asked who I thought was sexier. Sean Bean or Kiefer Sutherland. I had to go with Bean. Though for a man of 50, Sutherland sure can kick some arse. And to be dead honest if the question was "Jack Bauer or Boromir?" I'd have to go with Bauer. Boromir would get all conflicted when faced with a nuclear attack on L.A. Jack just acts.

Bricking

2006-03-03T16:33:00.000+02:00

A new 3 series BMW pulls up to a building site across the way. Bright, shiny, kitted out with mag-wheels and obviously packing one of the faster engines in the range. The driver's door opens and...

A man in workmans blues, paint spattered shirt, rough boots and a yellow helmet climbs out. He walks up to the building site and begins his day of hauling bricks up to the second level.

He isn't the foreman, he isn't a surveyor, he isn't a client checking out the site. He is a bricklayer and he drives an expensive car.

Looking down the road I notice all the other cars, a good dozen of them. Most new, most expensive.

Builders get paid a fortune in Ireland, bricklayers especially. Back home in South Africa a bricklayer is lucky if he can afford a train in to work. The rest hop on the back of the foreman's bakkie. In Ireland a building site has to have ample parking for all the individual cars that the workers drive in. Back home they have to have space for the death-trap buses that bring the workers in from the townships.

Man breasts

2006-03-03T14:56:00.000+02:00

20 minutes of rowing and a good many reps on the bench-press machine last night has left my upper-body in a state of ache. Cycling in to work this morning was by the easy route around the Waterford hill.

It, the ache, go me to thinking about manhood and how fragile a thing it is. I mentioned to a male friend this morning that my breasts were aching. He laughed and said men don't have breasts, they have a chest. Au Contraire, friend, men do have breasts. They sit on the chest, just like any women only less developed. At this point I was told to call them pecs, as in pectorals, and to stay clear of breasts. While technically he is correct, my pectorals are the ones aching, I don't usually refer to parts of my body using the correct muscle name. People don't say "My gluteus maximus is sore." They say "My arse hurts."

And, apologies, but when a guy says "My pecs" I want to burst out laughing and start calling him "Macho macho man." Or Arnold.

Pecs? Please, get over it.

I am also reminded that, what are undisputably men, wore breastplates. Breastplates. Notice the word breast in there?

At the end of the day, my breasts are aching and your manhood should be strong enough to weather the word.

American Visa appointments

2006-03-02T18:22:00.000+02:00

To get a visa to visit the U.S.A. from Ireland involves two steps. First you phone the information and appointment line (1580 47 8472) and book an appointment. I phoned today, the 2nd of March, and the next available date was at 8:30 in the morning on the 7th of March. They ask for your name, birthdate, nationality, birth-country and a contact number. You don't need to give them your passport details. They also tell you not to bring any electronic devices with you to the embassy. So no mobile phones, cameras, laptops etc.

Remember, do not phone the actual embassy. They don't deal with visa appointment applications. If you phone them they tell you to phone the number above instead (which is charged at €2.40 per minute.)

The appointment is then at the American Embassy in Dublin. It isn't far from the city center and any cab will know the way.

I'll tell you about the appointment once I have gone through it.

On Writerly

2006-03-02T18:02:00.000+02:00

When discussing Web 2.0. apps Writely comes up quite often. I'd love to say I get it, that I use it and it is brilliant. But I don't, I don't and, well, it isn't. Others disagree, they seem to love it. I admit it is a very good implementation of JavaScript and Ajax wizardry. I know how hard it is to get a WYSIWYG editor working well in a browser.

I would like to have my opinion changed though. What do you use it for? How is it really better than Word (which I loathe)? Do you really use it and find it indispensable?

JSON and E4X, a path

2006-03-02T14:23:00.000+02:00

Manipulating XML with Javascript, when you are using Ajax techniques, is a pain. This is why JSON was created and at first I was pleased with it. It seemed a neat way of passing data back and forth without the hassle of traversing XML nodes.

However it struck me that JSON might be a dead end what with the impending arrival of E4X aka ECMAScript for XML. As the name suggest it makes XML manipulation with Javascript a good deal easier. I haven't worked with it much but as far as I can see it makes XML data a native object in Javascript.

So you can invest in JSON now and then later on switch all your Ajax endpoints to XML and all your client-side script. Or you can battle with XML for now and hope E4X becomes standard in as many browsers as possible.

Marry me, showgirl

2006-03-01T19:25:00.000+02:00

I am going to have to warn my sister that she won't be beating me to marriage now that I am going to Vegas.

Hah!

Frosty saddle

2006-03-01T18:56:00.000+02:00

My fingers were too cold to get a photo of me rubbing the frost and ice off of my bike this morning. Flying down the Ferrybank hill left my fingers rosy with the cold. While passing some cows in a field I noticed their water trough was iced over while their fodder can't have been too tasty covered in frost.

Thankfully I am not further North as they have been getting sleet, snow and more ice than down here.

Cycling in Ireland is grand.

Commentary #1

2006-03-01T18:14:00.000+02:00

/// <param name="minSecondsSinceLastCheck">TODO: Brian, what does this do?</param>

While commenting some code I put that in. I could just turn around and ask Brian, but he looks busy.

Viva Las Vegas

2006-03-01T15:44:00.000+02:00

Vegas, baby!
Originally uploaded by Infinite Ache.

I never thought I'd see the day when I'd be going to Las Vegas.

We booked the flights and hotel yesterday, now all I need to do is get my U.S visa. The flights are a bit mad; Dublin -> Heathrow -> Los Angeles -> Las Vegas -> Gatwick -> Dublin. On first glance the hotels seemed a bit of a problem. The Venetian, where the conference is being held, was too expensive ($498 per room with two beds) and it looked like the Imperial Palace or the Flamingo were the best bets. But a few friends warned me against them. After a bit of digging I found a decently priced room at The Mirage ($736 for 4 nights for a room with two queen beds) which is right across the strip from the Venetian.

Should be a fantastic trip.