You wish

for what might have been.

We're your friends. We're not like the others, man, really.

Yeah, right.

Out in the wild.

Fresh country air is full of stuff, much of it flying about the place under its own steam. Phuft, blah. I saw some birdies which I didn't swallow and the water was quite dank in places. You were kind of expecting bodies to be semi-submerged. Or I've been watching Invasion a bit too much. Tempting but I wouldn't give some people the satisfaction. It had a sort of a bajou feel. I saw a couple of pieces of wildlife. The old camera phone doesn't have the best resolution. It was kind of tranquil but there aren't too many spots to sit and think.

Perhaps a walk by the river will do me good.

Decided to go for a wander. It is somewhat warm and sticky inside, perhaps there will be a summer breeze outside. Or knowing my luck at the moment there will be a miserable shower waiting for me. There again the water might be cooling.

Oh my dear God!

Seems that survey about pay levels in the IT industry I mentioned a few posts ago has brought some strange individuals out into the daylight.

Venom and Bile - Part 1

You'd wonder some times if trashy teen movies and mainstream schlock horror writers have taught us nothing about human behaviour.

When the telekenetically empowered nutter is made a fool of they don't just limit themselves to killing the perpetrators but indiscriminately lay waste to everyone in the room. Why? Because it is not so much the people behind the pig's blood that are the real offenders but those who were in on it and kept schtum. With friends like these who needs enemies. It kind of all boils down to trust. Can you trust those people? If in doubt, leave them out.

In truth, you tend to come to half expect such things from a transparent, androgyous leech who is so in need of validation that they probably have a photoshopped picture of themselves appearing on amihotornot. A person more choirboy than diva. Badly written though those people may be they still exist.

Coming soon, the Venom and Bile post

With character assassination and exposes galore. You won’t want to read it but you know you’ll have to. Bridges burned at no extra cost.

The danger of iTunes

It is strange how the music can mirror your mood. Which is probably not the best of things at times. I wonder if any coroners have thought to ask to see what the people had playing on their iTunes just prior to them being fished out of the drink.

Also, not to be advised to try and do repetitive somewhat dextrous manual tasks, like stuffing envelopes while not being exactly Captain Postivity I can almost relate to those Hollywood types who nick their fingers chopping the carrots. Every little thing becomes a major pain. Still, nearly done now.

Still not feeling any better

Someone offered me a hatchet but there was no one nearby I would bury it in. This of course is why sensible people have suggestted that people with incredible mutant powers would really need to be locked up, you never know when they will get in a stroppy mood and take out half the county. I could probably live with a few thousand deaths on my conscience right now, provided the right people were in there somewhere. Perhaps, the Shrike might get them on the way home.

Over the state line

Another shooting in Clare It would almost seem to some that the city's criminal faternity are taking the American concept of crossing state lines to perform certain activities to an ridiculous extreme in dispatching their executions style killings outside the city boundaries. It's not like the city boundary has customs posts stationed on it and that there is a lack of extradition with Clare or Limerick county. There again for some of the lads involved perhaps Clare is another world entire.

You think you know some people

People can surprise you. I'm not talking about what I did some years back to a housemate. We were living in house that had a mini landing, with a couple of steps up to a landing for the back of house and a turnback which lead back to the rooms in the front of the house. All this about 3/4 of the way up the stairs. The landing was quite dark when the light wasn't on even during the day. I was just at the top steps coming from the back of the house and saw my friend exit his room in the front of the house, so I stepped down the final step onto the landing and then sidestepped into the dark spot on the mini-landing. My friend came down the steps, turned passed me and was just about to descend the main stairs when I said, in my best even toned slight evil voice, 'Martin' Dear God, he leapt! And then once he had his balance turned and started thumping me. Which was fair enough given that I was in hysterics of laughter. There again, he was later that year one of those involved with the 'rattle stick trick' on the road out of Lagoa in Portugal.

No, what I mean is that people you suspect you're passable socialable with and who you've even somewhat against your better judgement helped out in finding a place to live when they were apparently stuck (there again, the signs were there when they don't even take the time to say 'thanks' for that) decide you're persona non grata. Still, it's not like it was any different last year.
We live and learn. Or not as the case may be. Death to the Arch Demoness Allegra Geller

Because you're not worth it.

Apparently we have another survey that states the obvious then tells us nothing. Women believe they are paid less than men in the IT industry. This survey is entirely about perception not reality. Those surveyed had no idea what their companies pay rates were so how could they tell if they were being paid more or less than their male colleagues?

The final quote in the article is a good illustration of what is completely wrong with these surveys
"Last October, official government stats found that women IT managers are still paid less that men although the gap was narrowing" Managing what exactly? Are they technical managers, product managers or project managers? Are they managing technical teams or test teams or directly dealing with the client? All those jobs require different qualities and those qualities are in varying degrees of availability and that impacts pay rates. But sure why should we look at the fine detail when the headline is so satisfying.

All part of the process - except when you're not

Inclusion and Exclusion are strange things, today we are reminded that some habits die hard with the murder of a teenager in Ballymena apparently because he belonged to not one group but to another.

While we are aware that excluding people is a delibrate act, it is necessary to recognise that inclusion requires activity too. When we decide to define who is part of the group, we are not just by implication ensuring that everyone else is most certainly outside. Even at the most basic social level including people is a positive act requiring an effort. Needless to say if people don't bother to make such an effort then it would seem to suggest that it wasn't worth doing.

Of course no one likes to be left out, but what is perhaps more annoying is if people 'include' you when you know it is under sufferance. Tolerance is good but being tolerated is not nearly so much as being really include. Also, if you aren't being asked to join in it is also kind of nice not to have it rubbed in your face on other occasions. Alright already, I get it. Speak when you're spoken to and know your place. I won't be inviting myself along to meals time in future.

Sometimes it is better to just stay outside. That why you can't think you weren't welcome.

Green Flags

Green flags are award by An Taisce as part of the internation eco-schools projects.

Some highlights from the speech were my attempts at lame humour such as saying "I'd like to say I had a speech prepared but my dog ate it. Which is interesting in that I don't have a dog."

"Someone, I think it was Kermit T. Frog once said, it's not easy being Green." I went on to compliment them on their hard work and how it's not one day thing, but a life long thing. There were probably some other environmentally right-on sentiments.

Audience participation.

OK, so I've tried to start back blogging and already I've got two commets on annoyingmice or anonymousesssss. Is that a form of stalking I wonder? It's along the lines of wondering aloud if you have an audience and immediately getting heckled. Still, it's better than talking to yourself. Or is it?

I did a thing with some school kids today involving a pole. One of the local secondary got a green flag their 3rd in fact and in my role as An Taisce chair I headed up to briefly speechify and spread the word. It went ok, took longer than it should have, I had forgotten how like herding cats schools can be. Probably end up with picture in the local press. More likely baby Leader than big Leader.

May I have the pleasure?

I paid a visit to the Mansion House over the weekend to see the Lord Mayor. There was some speechifying and some beverages to be enjoyed. As I mentioned to someone while there I liked the place, but I wouldn't be prepared to make an offer until I could find out what the rental situation in the area was like.

I also visited with some friends from the land of way back. Dear God but house prices in Dublin still give me the willies. K&K seemed in pretty good form.

Today, we had what I regarded as belated April showers put in an appearance. Weather has been pretty weird over the last few days. Friday was lovely but then got cold, then Saturday was pretty good but it rained Sunday afternoon.

Blogging appears to have taken a bit of dive recently...well...it has tailed off since the New Year I would think. Why is this I wonder? Perhaps, people became self conscious about what they were posting? Perhaps, the predominantly one-sided habit of a blog has made it harder to sustain an interest. After all when you talk to yourself you're aware that no one is listening with this blogging business you're not entirely sure if there is anyone listening or if the audience has all gone home.

What else have I done? Struggled to write a few bits, had some stuff printed in An Focal, ran a blog/column on the SU elections as an attempt to get into the punditry business Noel Whelan how are ya!

Errr.... there must have been something else.

Has it really been that long?

I promise to finish some entries and post them in the next few days. I've been very bold altogether

Someone has you in their sights

Kerryman at the Winter Olympics

Who would have thunk it, a Kerryman at the Winter Olympics and he's not pulling pints!

Best of luck to all the Irish team!

Other views on things technical

More craziness about how technical people lack social skills