diarmy: 100 Things

Posted by diarmy on Jul 23, 2010 in Assorted, Featured Articles | 0 Comments

I saw this idea on another blog. So here goes… 100 things you may or may not have known about me.

1. I was born in Tralee on Valentine’s Day in the building that now houses the Kerry County Council
2. Contrary to public opinion, I didn’t study sculpture at St. Martin’s college, I studied Business Information Systems at NUI Galway
3. I used to clean toilets for a living
4. I have brown hair which grows outward and has no real shape to it
5. My eyes are blueish-grey from years of staring at computer screens
6. My first games console was a Nintendo NES system that my mother bought us on a trip to the Ilac Center back in the early 1990s. It cost her £24.00 and she placed it on my bedside locker when I was asleep.
7. I learned how to tie my own shoes at the age of 4
8. I hated learning Irish in primary school but now love the language
9. I speak fluent Irish which has broken over the years – but I still understand every word
10. The first time I ever flew in an aircraft was in September 2004 at the age of 20.
11. My first trip outside the island of Ireland was to London by bus from Dingle in February 2000
12. I was born with blonde curls. I lost my devilish good looks at the age of 4.
13. Since graduating college 4 years ago, I’ve worked in 3 companies
14. I love medium-rear fillet of beef
15. My favourite place in the world is Yosemite National Park in California- I’ve been there only once.
16. I love photography
17. I’ve been designing websites since 2000
18. I helped design the database behind the Motor Taxation Website for the Department of Transport
19. I once spent 5 hours straight in a data-center floor at 4 degrees celsius
20. I can understand written and spoken french, but can only speak basic french
21. I’ve worked in London and Dusseldorf
22. My first car was a Renault Laguna 1.8l Sport. I paid €10,000 for it in 2006. It’s since been sold
23. I learned to drive in a 1988 Mitsubishi Galant 1.8l GLX at the age of 14
24. I only ever visited Northern Ireland once in my life and will never return
25. I have been to every county in the Republic of Ireland except Monaghan and Armagh.
26. After spending 4 years in university, I never once fulfilled an entire week of attendance
27. My favourite color is black. I know it’s not really a colour, but I like it.
28. Since 2004, I’ve owned and sold 11 Apple computers
29. I lived in Dublin for 6 months in Ranelagh
30. My favourite county in Ireland is Tipperary (south)
32. I spent two years of my life in boarding school and loved every minute of it
33. I’ve not lived in Kerry for more than 3 months in over 10 years
34. I love driving
35. I am afraid of dogs
36. I can make almost anything with my hands
37. I love to cook
38. My pet hate is people who pronounce things incorrectly
39. I have always been a supporter of Fianna Fáil
40. I like nature, but not animals
41. I’ve been to Spain, Germany, USA, France, England, Wales and Northern Ireland
42. I once drank an entire bottle of Calpol as a child and had to be brought to hospital afterward
43. My favourite way of eating potatoes is mashed
44. I cannot make fried eggs without ruining them
45. I am totally useless at Mathematics
46. I once scored 11% in an accountancy exam
47. I have never ever stayed the entire time of an exam
48. I used to suffer from chronic migraine as a child
49. My first kiss was at the age of 15. It did not go well.
50. I remained abstinent from alcohol until I was in college
51. My first alcoholic drink was Champagne followed by Tia Maria and Orange Juice. I nicknamed the drink ‘The Smarties Drink’ because it tastes like smarties.
52. I was once addicted to smarties
53. I love Ribena Blackcurrant
54. I lost all interest in playing video games about 10 years ago
55. I love swimming
56. I hate unions
57. I have never broken a bone despite countless attempts
58. I once played gaelic football and was quite good until I saw how nepotistic it is
59. I am very good at mimicking accents
60. I was once the lead tenor in a choir and can sing almost falsetto too
61. I studied music for 13 years and can play violin, piano, organ, flute and accordian
62. I passed my driving test first time at the age of 17
63. I have two siblings – I am the eldest
64. My least favourite county in Ireland is Dublin. It is also my least favourite city
65. I once wanted to become a priest
66. I do not practice any religion and think it should be banned
67. I don’t have a favourite type of music – I like classical, rock, pop, metal, acoustic and jazz
68. My favourite alcoholic tipple is cider of Guinness
69. I once drank an entire shoulder of vodka in under 5 minutes which had absolutely no affect on me.
70. I cannot drink Jaegermeister
71. My least favourite food is sweetcorn as I once puked up an entire bowl of it
72. My favourite car is an Austin Martin DBS but if I won the lotto I’d buy a Renault Laguna Coupé
73. If I ever did win the lotto, I wouldn’t tell anyone
74. My dream is to change the world
75. I hate weddings
76. I don’t like crisps
77. I have over 1000 friends on Facebook. I don’t know about 98% of them
78. I would hate to be burned alive
79. I love film music soundtracks
80. My favourite film is Notting Hill
81. I have watched every episode of Star Trek The Next Generation but have NEVER watched Star Wars
82. If I could be anything in the world, I’d love to be an astronaut
83. I once applied to be in the Navy
84. I have never fired a weapon
85. I watch on average 3 movies a week
86. My favourite male actor is George Clooney
87. I don’t have a favourite female actor but Julia Roberts, Scarlett Johannson and Rachel McAdams are my top three – followed closely by Rachel Bilson and Debra Messing
88. I don’t like cheese
89. I can get a headache within seconds of smelling a strawberry
90. I have no idea what I want to do with my life
91. I abhorr people who drive slowly or people who don’t use indicators
92. My favourite word in the English language is ‘fuck’
93. My favourite phrase in Irish is ‘grá éagmaiseach’ meaning ‘unrequited love’
94. I h8 txt spk nd dnt lyk ppl usn it
95. I would love to come back as a dolphin
96. I don’t like Piña Colada, but like getting caught in the rain
97. I used to sleep with a yellow crochet blanket until I was 7
98. My first teddy bear was a sleeping dog I mistook for a crocodile and named it ‘Croc’
99. I once had a goldfish for over 3 years
100. I love bunny rabbits

Time to Silence the Angelus

Posted by diarmy on Jun 20, 2010 in Assorted, Featured Articles | 0 Comments

All throughout Ireland, and much of the world, when the clock strikes the hour, a church bell peels to announce the hour. Since the tradition was started in early Christian times, people have been ruled by the chimes from above and while few traditional bells remain in a digital world, I believe it’s now time to silence these tones of power.

As children congregate together at dusk, one may light a firecracker, shout aloud with laughter or even speak in a loud voice. This very often is construed by authorities as a “breach of the peace”. But what of the loud reverberating tones of an establishment who very often and very recently brutally silenced those sounds of laughter from children and who now, even today in the second decade of the 21st century, are shamelessly allowed to blast their so-called “call to prayer” throughout this country so ravaged by the failings in care and brutal régime presided over by the Catholic Church? Why do we still give pause to reflect on the works of our so-called ‘God’ but fail to notice the cruel and unforgiving hardship those around us must bear for the crimes of those who wore the cloth. Far from the war-torn middle-ages and the burning bodies of the crusades, Ireland today still displays the wounds of a society marred by the violence, hatred and bitter neglect of those who seek to espouse the virtues of a man believed to have lived over two thousand years ago.

Religion is the cause of almost all war. Organised religion seems to be the cause of all modern warfare. Afghanistan, Gaza, Turk/Cypriot wars and the Northern Ireland violences. And in Ireland a war of silence has been vigorously pursued for generations as those in the upper echelons of the catholic church sought to quell the growing questions about abuses being carried out at institutions all across the country. To reach a point where a woman in her 50s can sit in the audience of an RTE programme in 2010 and say openly that she didn’t believe the church did any wrong shows that for too long the church has had a reigning grasp over the views of the free people of the Republic of Ireland.

And for the national broadcaster to have a ‘moment of reflection’ every evening at 6pm on the primary national station with church bells in the background, with more prayers close to the end of schedule, we are constantly surrounded by biased religious symbolism. In a world with even greater divisions than those between the church and the people here in Ireland, I believe it’s now time for us to take a stand. The separation of church and state must be copper-fastened by banning the use of church bells, and by taking a firm stand against the oldest institution in the world. We cannot live in a society where bishops of the church can make openly homophobic comments about marriage when the government is pursuing a policy of equality for same-sex couples. The whole institution of marriage needs to be dissolved in its current form. All citizens wishing to enforce a sacrificial bond of togetherness which is no longer in tune with the realities of the modern world should not be allowed to do so with the mention of ‘God’ in the procedure unless both actually want it to. When I die, the last person I want present is someone who believes that death leads to ‘a life ever-lasting’ who at the same time refuses to take a stand against his leader’s unwillingness to entertain female ministers, blessing the union of two men or two women and who believe today that sex should be an act only pursued in the vein of procreation.

I believe that this world cannot continue to prosper and succeed if religion is given any place or power. It should be outlawed and the first step should be the removal of all religious overtones in society, starting with the bells that wake me up every morning in a cold sweat.

diarmy

Niamh in it to Win It!

Posted by diarmy on May 27, 2010 in Assorted, Featured Articles | 0 Comments

Tonight was probably Ireland’s easiest run at the Eurovision Final since the qualification stages began a few years ago. 17 acts from across the European Union and other continental countries came together in Oslo to sing like crazy people for a chance at the big prize – a place in Europe’s most watched TV programme of the year. Niamh Kavanagh, who previously won the competition in 1993, sang the now a-typical Irish ballad “It’s for You”, and aside from the wardrobe disaster that was her purple dress and the bad hair day she had, she was among the rare few on the show who sang almost pitch-perfect. And all throughout the song, Niamh blasted through the notes with precision and skill, with the notable exception of the final cadence, but by then the goosebumps on my body and shivers of pride down my spine were enough for me to be more than happy with her execution of our entry.

The Eurovision contest is rife with problems however. Aside from the fact that it is now far too big for it to carry any measure of fairness, the contest’s focus has shifted from its beginnings in Western Europe, to the Eastern European countries, Nordic Countries and Middle-East entrants. For example, Israel’s entrant this year sang alongside Niamh Kavanagh and rarely hit a note correctly and still qualified. The voting system is also flawed and very obviously skewed in favour of neighbouring countries.

Aside from the bigger picture, each participating country must select an entrant, usually chosen through the national television broadcaster. While some countries shamelessly put their best-looking women on show with lots of hair, little clothing and much bluster from the floor-fans, Ireland trots out the usual 5 or 6 ‘semi-finalists’ on the Late Late Show (don’t mention the so-called ‘pop-idol’ competitions) and then in a seemingly democratic way, whittles them down using a combination of 50% back-room team and 50% public vote. The odd thing is that all the acts bar one are complete shite and I’m completely oblivious as to how they arrive at selecting those that make it to the silver screen.

But overall, for Niamh’s performance, I’m happy with what we’ve ended up with. It’s a pretty forgettable song apart from the melody and her execution of it. Interestingly according to insiders, Niamh stood on a box in order to gain height in the dress – likely for presentation along with the backing singers. My prediction is that we’ll finish where we start on Saturday, somewhere in the top 10 but at the lower end of that. There’s a huge push for Azerbaijan and Denmark on Twitter at present, my tip is that Denmark have a good chance of winning and their proximity to Norway can’t but help given the action is taking place in Oslo. There’s also an interesting following of the Greek entry which of course would be questionable if the bankrupt state could knowingly take on the mantle of host in 2011 given their dire financial position. If Greece or Azerbaijan do win however, it means the competition will stay in that corner of Europe for a few more years. As it is moving from Russia to Norway and likely Denmark next, it’s coming our way.

Anyway, that’s all from me. Hit me up on Twitter @diarmy and best of luck to Niamh on Saturday. Just hope she loses the bad backing vocals, really terrible dress and maybe put the hair up with some bling on the neck and ears. The female competition is fierce – check out Georgia, Azerbaijan and Ukraine!

diarmy

Sneak Preview: New Year's 2009 – Dingle

Posted by diarmy on Dec 6, 2009 in Assorted, Featured Articles | 0 Comments

Dingle is as good a place as any to ring in the New Year, and this year we welcome the dawn of a new decade. In 2009, as has been since 2005, I will create, design, program, install and unveil the next generation of the digital countdown clocks I’ve been doing for the town for nearly half a decade. With the help of a friend to provide the powerful equipment needed to project the clock across a whole sodium-lit street, we’ll bid farewell to the year of flooding, miserable recession, constant and incessant rain, and hope for a better future for all.

In 2008, the town reached what I believe was a milestone of over 3000 revelers standing on the old 18th century bridge at the foot of Main Street, watching the clock, listening to the Fife & Drum Band and enjoying the atmosphere of a town on the edge of Europe welcoming a new year. Check out the video I made of last year’s event:

A NEW CLOCK FOR A NEW DECADE

This year, a new and improved countdown clock will be used, which I hope will be used for many years to come. The old clock I felt had its day in the sun (or sodium-filled light). So the new flip-style clock will be a sure thing that night. It’s to be switched on at 1830hrs on 31st December 2009 and will remain in place until 0030hrs.

I look forward to hearing you cheer with joy as the clock reaches zero.

Slán go fóill…

diarmy

Oppressed Speech

Posted by diarmy on Nov 3, 2009 in Assorted, Featured Articles, Politics | 0 Comments

While in the USA recently, I took some time to check out American television. Not for any other reason other than it’s something that always fascinates me. The mixture of mild-mannered newsreaders in pristine wax-like condition, informing their viewers of the day’s events (some in their own slant!). The personable talk-show hosts and the outrageously silly self-help gurus. The madness of the high regard and esteem with which doctors, particularly specialised ‘MDs’ are held and the mania that is the advertisments from drug-companies selling everything from erectile dysfunction cures to heart medicine that may include such side effects as death or serious bleeding.

So I’m sitting watching all this stuff, and the hours go by and as I flick through the Comcast EPG (which is awful by the way) I see one of my all-time favourite films: Goodfellas. This is a truly great film. Along with the Godfather trilogy and Casino, there are few films that grab my attention like Goodfellas. So I’m watching the bar scene before Billy Batts gets his head crushed by Pesci and I’m thinkin, there’s something wrong here. I don’t remember them saying the word ‘freakin’ in this movie. Then I realise as the bad dubbing becomes apparent, that the whole thing is dubbed! So I watch for another few minutes, and then I can watch no more. I had to turn off. This is wrong.

I notice this pattern of censorship more and more then as I flick through the channels. Words like ‘shit’ are silented, as is the first part of ‘goddamn’ – yes, god! This is just wrong. Allow me to demonstrate, using some of Stephen Fry’s words:

I cannot understand how a country that made such great films as Goodfellas has let the lunatics loose and banned cursing and swearing?! What harm does it really do? Who does it really offend? Only those who love to be offended as far as I can see. Kids these days are more expressive because of those words. Maybe boardroom meetings and sales conferences would be more successful if the bullshit was cut and a swear word used to describe it! This politeness shite really pisses me off. Fuck sake, what a joke. I just felt like going out on the streets of San Francisco and cursing and swearing like a mad Irish eejit. It’s fucking stupid. Seriously. Get over it. If you can sell drugs to give men a 4-hour erection at 10 in the morning, you can show Frank Vincent tell Joe Pesci to ‘go home and get your fuckin shine box’. I was so ashamed for people who’ve never really heard that movie. I can’t imagine what they did to the film ‘In the Loop’. Don’t bother watching it if you’re reading this in the US. You won’t get how funny it is.

Fuckin sickening!

diarmy

Welcome to the new DiarmyDotNet!

Posted by diarmy on Apr 5, 2009 in Assorted | 0 Comments

Hello and welcome aboard the new DiarmyDotNet. Many things have been going on since December’s post. I’ve changed hosting plans aboard Hosting365′s new owners Namesco. While I’m not exactly thrilled with the new levels of control behind the scenes of each domain I own, I guess saving €30 a month makes all the difference.

Back on topic, the new site is slightly faster than the old and more modern-chic. I hope to retain this theme for a while, but have a few others lined up for special occasions.

I hope that we can all look forward together to much more from DiarmyDotNet.

diarmy