Delectation Stultorum

Lá Fhéile Phádraig.

2011-03-17T08:55:00.001-07:00

2010-12-11T13:21:00.000-08:00

Spotted in the local euro/poundshop - not the most thought out of brandnames this one.... though even huge corporations don't always get it right- e.g. Disney's Epic Mickey for the Wii.....

2010-03-22T14:46:00.000-07:00

To quote Enda Kenny on the latest government reshuffle (and remember he's trying to destabilize or discredit the government) "The latest cabinet reshuffle is like putting firelighters on a fire that's already gone out".
Now Enda, just a quick question - why would you put firelighters on a fire that's lit? Idiot. You put firelighters on a fire to light it so adding them to a fire that has gone out is a good thing. Well done Enda on complimenting the government. Proof positive we have no real alternative to the self serving inarticulate bumblers that are in place at the moment.
What's also quite funny is that the media haven't picked up on Enda's error and are playing the soundbite left right and centre as if it's a great statement - evidence of their inability to analyse the stories they report....

While I'm on a rant - events at the passport office are hitting the headlines today with civil/public servants being yet again criticized. Apparently the civil & public service do nothing - yet when they work to rule (i.e. just do the job they are paid to do and nothing else) chaos ensues - demonstrating the importance of the services they provide and also displaying how existing flexibility in their modus operandi enables the public/civil service to function correctly despite staff shortages and recruitment moratoria. Hopefully the public will get this message and start to pressurize their local representatives and the government as a whole into formulating a real, intelligent solution to the problems the country faces.

2010-02-07T13:40:00.000-08:00

Most Cruel Toy Of Them All?!!!

Pictured is the VTech "Crawl and Learn Bright Lights" ball... It's quite a fascinating thing for babies to see - it sings, it flashes, it has little tags and is bright and vibrant.

Where it gets cruel is that it rolls around the floor - so basically, after attracting the child's attention, as they reach for it it whizzes of in a different direction. Apparently this encourages them to learn how to move/crawl, but seriously it's such a mean way of doing things! After putting in all the effort of rolling over to look at it, it rolls away just out of reach... I can see bad things happening to this ball in the future as the child it torments takes revenge...

2009-07-27T00:48:00.000-07:00

THE IRISH TIMES DOES IT AGAIN!

From the front page headlines on the Irish Times website this morning:

"Ballymun tore expects 1,000 shoppers an hour after it begins trading from 11am."

Surely they mean 'store'?

Update:

We're getting mileage out of this story - latest gaff by the Irish Times on their website:

"The Republic’s first Ikea store opened in Ballymun today with a traditional log-cutting ceremony outide the main door door."

Door door?

2009-07-26T10:15:00.000-07:00

From the front page of the Irish Times website, a nice picture – accompanied by the headline “A line of pilgrims on the final accent on Croagh Patrick in Co. Mayo”

That’s right – ‘accent’ not ‘ascent’ but ‘accent’.

FFS!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Proof again of the quality of editing and standard of reporting that our national daily newspapers aspire to.

Oh and can someone please explain to the Irish Independent what a fada is and how to insert it?

2009-07-18T10:14:00.000-07:00

The new boss...

2009-07-09T10:11:00.000-07:00

See anything wrong with this picture? They managed to do two before being stopped…

2009-02-15T00:49:00.000-08:00

Spotted on my travels recently (in Bristol airport to be precise).

What are you supposed to do? Demolish the door then wait for help? Yet another example of the falling standards of global education... mind you this was from the country whose society has collapsed so far as to allow 13 year olds boys to father children.. Nice.

Alas, on my return home however, I was greeted with similar grammatical errors:

Ah yes, the classical 'your/you're' mix up... at least I suppose we can claim it is a second or foreign language to our Old-Ireland wired brains?

Have some pride people!

2008-12-10T11:44:00.000-08:00

Would you trust what this man has to say?
Looking somewhat like the lovechild of Mr Magoo and Mr Magika, I'm afraid he doesn't inspire much confidence.
Who is he? His name is Dermot Ryan and he's a senior inspector in the Department of Agriculture who informed us recently that the type of oil used in animal feed processing here has resulted in Dioxin/PCB contamination of the feed and the animals fed it.
In some ways the government is to be commended for their swift action in relation to this incident however the ill-informed manner in which they went about it is certainly not.

Given the collapse of the pork processing industry as a result of the ban, it is interesting to note how the same contaminants that are in pork products are not harmful in beef products and therefore beef will not be removed from sale despite certain beef products failing to meet the required standards.

The EU has carried out its own testing no and has advised that pork products from this country are safe to eat, thereby casting doubt on the initial reaction by the authorities here. Although no doubt in the wake of the Belgian Dioxin/PCB scandal of a few years ago they were 'acting in the National Interest'

What I find interesting is that had this contamination occurred back in 2005, it is highly probable nothing would have been done or said about it - the EU legislation in relation to Dioxin/PCB content (Commission Regulation No. 1881/2006) was, as its name suggests only passed in 2006 and so there was no control on the contaminants up to that time.
Again, perhaps the government is to be commended for enforcing the regulations in a relatively quick manner, however again it has been done haphazardly as we don't have the relevant testing facilities available to detect Dioxins/PCBs in foodstuffs.

As a result of this, I find it hard to accept what the 'Experts' say when they tell us the food is safe and that is only a risk after prolonged exposure - I put it to them that we have already been exposed in a prolonged manner given that there was no regulation prior to 2006 and as Dioxins/PCBs accumulate in body fat over time it would seem highly likely that the population have all been exposed to high levels. Has anybody though of testing a sample of the populace to find out if this is the case? Typically no.

All we can currently do is sit back and get some entertainment watching the government squirm as they try to backtrack/weasel their way out of yet another fine mess that they've gotten themselves into.

Whilst the government is to be somewhat commended for it's response (a week late due to our inadequate testing facilites) it is yet again frustrating to be dealing with another uninspiring ham-fisted response.

For more details on Dioxins/PCBS, the following links may be of use:

http://www.fsai.ie/publications/info_notes/pcbs_dioxins_2008.pdf

http://europa.eu.int/comm/food/fs/sc/scf/out90_en.pdf

http://www.inchem.org/documents/jecfa/jecmono/v48je20.htm

2008-12-08T12:51:00.000-08:00

Idiot Customs Officials Warn of Fake Nintendo DS Imports

Spotted on BBC Breakfast the other day - a customs official warning the public about importing cheap Nintendo DS consoles as they are fakes and will electrocute your children..

The problem I have with this is that the consoles shown were perfectly legitimate imports - admittedly 'grey' imports so the colour schemes were of a limited edition kind never sold in the UK but the consoles themselves were the real deal.

After further discussion the idiot customs people finally got around to admitting it was the power supplies that cause the problem as there are not legit. (When approached Nintendo themselves said the power supplies were fake, but said nothing of the consoles).

The excuses the Customs people gave for the console being fake are pathetic - such as tatty packaging, separate power supply or no documentation.

Ok the power supply is probably fake, but the console isn't. The reason the power supply is separate is because the unit is from a different market and the sellers are providing cheap UK power supplies as alternates - most likely selling the original adaptors in their home market to increase profits. The reason the packaging may be tatty is because it has been shipped internationally, and has also been opened to remove the original power supply for resale. The Documentation has been removed also as Asian documentation is not much use to J Bloggs in Yorkshire is it?

This is a pathetic, somewhat cynical ploy by Customs to stop people searching out cheaper alternatives. If they were truly concerned they would get their facts right and highlight the power supply issues instead of blaming the console. The scare-mongering they have entered into here is pathetic, with statements like "it will get on fire" or "it will fund terrorism" giving an indicator of the low level of intelligence of these people.

For a frustrating time check out the following links:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7766708.stm

http://news.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews/hi/newsid_7760000/newsid_7767100/7767188.stm

Both BBC links - highlighting again how far that particular corporation has fallen in recent months, pandering to the media, old folk and various other narrow minded idiots.

2008-11-29T06:03:00.000-08:00

After years of trying to convince the world that the game Bowls is not just for old folk, it seems the World Bowls assocaiation has gone and shot themselves in the foot.. One of the current major title sponsors of the World Bowls Tour is.... The Cooperative Funeral Care group.. Yep, come to the bowls, plan your funeral. Definitely not the way to shake off a stale aged image...
Apparently this was the 2nd year that The Co-operative Funeralcare sponsored the World Matchplay, providing valuable support for the popular sport and they also supports local bowls in many regions across the country by sponsoring local clubs, leagues, competitions and equipment. A company planning for the future then?!!

For further information check out http://www.worldbowlstour.com/ and of course don't forget http://www.co-operativefuneralcare.co.uk/ for all your burial needs ;-)

2008-11-04T15:45:00.000-08:00

Spotted in a local Tesco - the Irish version of the much anticipated sequel to Far Cry on the Xbox360.. Fair City 2..... play Bella in the fight against forces of evil in Carrigstown... features appearances by such stars as Keith Duffy and other members of the Boyzone variety troupe... Fair City 2 Available Now!!!!

2008-10-20T12:07:00.000-07:00

So Dublin has a theatre festival eh? How well run is it I wonder? Well put it this way. it's as badly run as an Irish bank, or any other global bank for that matter. Back in early September I filled in the online form to request a Theatre festival programme to get the listings of what was on. As per my request a brochure arrived to my house.. today..

Interesting that today is the 20th October 2008. From the picture above I think you can see that the dates of the festival were Sept. 25 - Oct. 12 2008.... how's that for efficiency? 8 days after the festival ended, I got a programme of events to inform me of what was on... I wonder how well managed the festival was.. anybody go? anybody got any idea of how it went?!!

2008-09-09T14:39:00.000-07:00

Apologies for the quality of the photo, but it is hard to take an action shot whilst driving! Spotted on the country backroads of Kildare on a Sunday morning- they'll use any form of transport possible to get to mass- sure you can never have enough mass now can you?! They come by car, tractor, bicycle and... Lawnmower.

2008-09-04T10:05:00.000-07:00

Ok so according to the media and economists, we are in economy freefall and entering a huge recession. As a result of this we have seen a so called 'adjustment' in the value/pricing of property in a country where it was vastly over-valued anyway... as a result sales of house have dried up and the market is stagnant. Apparently the wonderful constantly active government we have is coming off its holidays to help address the situation through various budgetary measures. In the meantime, our oh-so hard hit property developers who have been milking a serious cash cow over the past decade have come up with an interim solution - they will loan money to house purchasers interest free for 7 years to allow people afford their houses.... they have said that as banks have tightened up, people cannot get huge mortgages and so can't afford their over-valued houses. Their solution (instead of taking the logical step of cutting the house price to realistic levels) is too take their own mortgage out on part of the property you buy and give you 7 years to pay it off, thereby saving people form having to accumulate a deposit, and safeguarding their astronomical profits whilst also maintaining high property prices.

Does this sound insane to anyone else? For a start, if you can't afford a deposit now, how are you going to afford to pay back this interest free loan in 7 years given that you will be paying a huge mortgage anyway? Also if there are further problems - who actually owns the house given that there are 2 mortgages on the property... basically this scheme is just deferring part of the cost of the house, so the prospective buyer will have to top up their mortgage in 7 years time - that they may not be able to do if property values fall (which they have to at some point..)

Hopefully someone will gather these developers together and smack them across the back of their heads. They've had it far too good for far to long and it's time they took a hit for a change. The solution is simple, if they want to sell property, they should drop their prices.

2008-08-28T09:58:00.000-07:00

Ok so we're all well aware of the fiasco that has been the Westlink M50 toll bridge and the amount of money it has cost the consumer whilst in the hands of National Toll roads.. alas this doesn't seem to be going to improve anytime soon with the take over of the bridge by the government under the NRA umbrella. The introduction of barrier free tolling may alleviate some of the traffic congestion, but given that the bridge has been paid for several times over, why bother with tolling at all?! It seems our ailing public finances need to be propped up yet again with another form of stealth tax.. and as for the whole toll-tag idea.. whilst it's great in theory, it seems pretty obvious that the running of the system is as haphazard as ever. So far we've been told that the collection booths will be in place until 2010 so there will still be traffic disruption as a result, we've been told that some of the cameras to read plates/tags are not yet facing the right way (were they aimed by our olympic marksmen perchance?) and that they may not yet be able to read number plates correctly (isn't that what they are designed to do?!!). Add to this the fact that hardly anyone has received their toll tags yet and it's all adding up to be a ridiculous cause of headache and heartbreak for the long suffering motorist. I ordered a tag a month ago, barrier free tolling arrives in 2 days, with one postal day left and there is no sign of my tag. (Despite the fact that the money was taken from my account over 2 weeks ago.) We have been assured that everything is ok and we won't be charged etc. etc... this reassurance from the same person who told us that the system wasn't yet up to speed and that there would be teething problems.

The only useful thing the guy told us was how to circumvent the system in the short term whilst issues are sorted out with their systems - If you have a number in your reg. that is similar to another (e.g. 0 & 8) and your number plate fixing screw is in the middle of the 0 then chances are the system will pick the number up as an 8, thereby getting the reg. incorrect and so billing the wrong car.

I can see lots of people with extra bits of tape or large screws holding their number plates on as a result... seriously has their spokesperson any wit that he pointed this out to the public on national radio? Incompetence at the highest level yet again...

Back to the toll tag companies - I wish I'd set one up - they are going to be raking in the profits what with their 'account administration charges' and their minimum top up amounts - take for instance eazypass - their minimum top up amount is 40 euro and you can't go below 12 euro before it is topped up again - this means they have at least 12 euro per customer sitting there for them to play around with and earn profit off. Hundreds of thousands of euro robbed off people for these tag companies to do with as they please. Where's the financial regulator/ombudsman/consumer watchdog now? Where were they when this scheme was proposed? It's all a bit ridiculous, actually no it's a lot ridiculous and incredibly frustrating that such issues arise in this country time and time again. I like the mass non payment of tolls idea that the truckers are proposing.. despite my dislike for the French, it's a bit our country isn't a pity more like them in

this respect, uniting as a nation to object to something we don't like/want.

Speaking of things we don't like/want - next up, a long overdue look at the Lisbon treaty debacle...now there's a can of worms....

2008-08-27T14:33:00.000-07:00

Ok, I've found yet another excuse as to why I've not been updating this the way I should be - and it's not because I don't hate anything anymore (believe me I do.. I really really hate so many things...).

Basically I've been working! hard to believe I know after all these years... but a lot of my time nowadays is taken up with carrying out analysis on things such as the illicit preparations pictured above. ( I could tell you more but I'd have to kill you...)

This, allied to the demise of my original blogging software conduit has limited the time available for me to rant as it now involves me sitting down specifically to do it rather that creating stream of consciousness rants on the fly. Yet again I am exploring options to restore the moblogging ability to my phone/pdas so fingers crossed there is something suitable available.... even if it does mean going down the road of a setup that doesn't allow anonymous comments... y'all will just have to register if you've got something to say about what I'm saying or have said.

2008-05-27T12:27:00.000-07:00

Hmmmm it seems the Spanish may have tastes somewhat different to ours - spotted here in Barcelona, an ARS that people were lining up to eat out of.. definitely not my cup of tea.. those Spaniards are crazy...

2008-05-13T11:59:00.000-07:00

Surprisingly enough, the omnipotent burden of taxation isn't something I've ranted about before - I guess I've been insulated from it for a while as a recurring student and then being on contract.. however since I've recently changed jobs, the problems associated with the governments legal theft of our wages have reared their ugly head - most specifically in the form of the dreaded 'Emergency Tax'.

I submitted my P45 to my new employers (a governmental department) months ago and yet still I am on emergency tax rates so I am not seeing over half of my wages at the moment.

The whole point behind a P45 is that it contains details of earnings and tax paid during the tax year. When you change jobs, you submit it to your new employers and they calculate the tax you've paid and how much you should pay from there on out for the year.

At least that's how it should work.

However, after many phone calls and circular inquiries I have finally found out that my current employers don't accept the P45 as a suitable detailing of tax paid - so basically a government department doesn't accept the government (revenue) approved form for passing on details of tax paid. Instead I had to spend more time on the phone requesting cumulative tax certificates (surely the same thing as a P45?!) and then wait for those to be sent out, my employer to receive them, process them and sort out my tax details.. so basically that means another month passes without me receiving my correct remuneration. admittedly this is a form of compulsory saving as I will eventually get overpaid tax refunded, but how am I supposed to buy a Nintendo Wii if the government is pocketing all my disposable income?!

Bureaucracy at it's best I think... fill everything out in triplicate and then find out it's worthless.... it's a wonder our beloved new Taoiseach hasn't set up a Department of Paper Shuffling to help sort this out.... mind you he's probably busy on the Lisbon Treaty campaign trail.... now there's something to get annoyed about..

After the Nice fiasco ('we'll keep presenting it to you until you vote yes') which reflected badly on the voting public here in that people did change and vote yes... it seems with the Lisbon treaty we are being implored by Mr. Cowen to 'ignore the complexities of the treaty and vote yes'.

So basically Brian, you are telling us to vote yes for something even if we don't understand what it means? I'm afraid I sense a flaw in your logic there buddy. If you didn't know fire burned and you stuck your hand in it you'd get burned wouldn't you? I think this is a simple illustration of the dangers associated with acting in ignorance and yet our government is advising us to do so.

Unfortunately due to the unchecked proliferation of the unintelligent in this country that's exactly what people do.. following their leader like a good flock of sheep.

Perhaps in modern Ireland religion is no longer the opiate of the masses but rather people's faith is now misplaced in the hands of politicians....

His name may be Brian, but in the words of Monty Python, he's not the Messiah - he's a very naughty boy...

2008-04-17T09:32:00.000-07:00

Well, I received my 'What to do in case of a major emergency' booklet in the post today.

What a load of rubbish. Some of the highlights include:

*) In case of explosion or building collapse, hide under a table.

*) In case of a nuclear accident , watch television.

*) In case of a flu pandemic, buy some paracetamol.

All very practical, useful and effective solutions to the problem..

I especially like the way, for every listed emergency, the book says that 'at the time of the emergency the authorities will issue (post out) leaflets and information on what to do'.

Surely that was the point of this booklet in the first place - to let people know what to do/what is expected from them during a major emergency.

Yet another publicity stunt and pointless exercise from the bureaucracy that is supposed to be representing us.

Not a mention is made of what to do when you are driving down the motorway and some idiot cuts in front of you and slaps on their brakes to get off at an exit ramp, or indeed how you to track that person down and eliminate them. Surely the daily risk of pile-ups on our major roads is worthy of 'emergency' status given that we have the highest rate of fatalities per crash in Europe... or is senile old 'Uncle Gaybo' (glorious, pensioner head of our road safety authority) supposed to have it all in hand?

No mention is made of how to find extra booze after an impromptu party kicks off and alcohol is in short supply.

Most appropriately perhaps, no mention is made of how to prevent the extreme waste of public fund and taxpayers dollars on tripe like this emergency response advice.

So we've been told to read this book and keep it in a safe place? - Well I can think of a very safe place to stick it Mr. (Man Behind The Moustache) O'Dea, somewhere that the sun doesn't shine.

2008-04-10T10:13:00.000-07:00

Not so much a rant this time, more of a gloat... as the noble Mr. T. is often heard to annunciate "I pity the fool!" - In this case I pity the fools who went out and bought an iPhone over the past while. For a premium purchase price and outrageous annual subscription they get a mid-generation network technology phone and a low capacity iPod. Admittedly Safari on a phone is a good thing.. but then Opera Mini isn't that bad either...

Usually known for their style and innovation, I'm afraid whilst stylish the iPhone just isn't cutting edge enough for the hype it has generated... in fact it's easily (and quite economically) beaten in the capability stakes.. rather than throw a huge amount of money at a device that has limited storage and is based on older technology, I've gone down the route of turning my 5G 160GB iPod classic into a phone... by the rather simple addition of a Gear4 BlueEye add on... this has allowed me to connect my Nokia N73 to it via bluetooth and take/make calls on the iPod. The N73 is a reasonably competent smartphone with office applications, 3 mega pixel camera, video calling capability and a speedy 3G network connection all of which are sadly absent on the iPhone... Oh and via the addition of Slingplayer, I can watch tv on my phone.

So basically for the price of €50 I have a set up that's better than the iPhone, has 10 times the storage capacity, a better camera and doesn't cost me a fortune in connection charges if I decide to surf the net...

All in all quite an acceptable solution I believe... and given the way the iPhone has become more of a fashion statement than an actual functional device, I also don't feel like I'm being an ostentatious pillock wandering around with the latest fashion must have... but then again those sort of people always value form over function but THAT'S NOT ME!

Oh and guess what.. I can turn my phone off and still listen to my iPod without having to worry about 'Aeroplane mode' - or as the iPhone so yankily spells it 'Airplane mode'.

It will be a while longer before a converged device can compete with a set up like this so for the foreseeable future I'll be passing on the iPhone.. maybe someday it'll come with a finglonger or some other such astounding innovation/incentive but until then i'll stick with my divergent lifestyle and lots of pockets.

2008-04-05T03:11:00.000-07:00

Right, welcome back (to me and you...) I know I've been off air for quite some time - but I guess I can blame the scene above - that's the view from my bedroom and damnit if it isn't hard to get annoyed about things when there s a view like that to relax you. In the past while I've bought a house and moved jobs ( yep I'm a fully fledged tax paying, unionised, member of the civil service now and boy am I looking forward to retirement!) so things have been kinda hectic and it's been hard to find time to rant about the wrongs or rave about the rights that I encounter on a daily basis. Luckily, I've been saving them up so now that I've time the tirades can begin anew. I'll increase my fibre intake as well in the hope that things will be more 'regular' than they have been. So on that note, Happy Christmas, Happy New Year, Happy St. Patrick's Day and Happy Easter. Are you sitting comfortably? Good, then I'll begin.

Things start on a positive note for a change - finally, after far too long and too many unofficial attempts, Lego have filled the gap in their range that has needed addressing for years. Good riddance Johny Storm, Lego Indiana Jones is here to stay. With an initial release of four kits covering aspects of the first three films, perhaps the most interesting side effect of this movie tie in is that there are now Third Reich figures available in the Lego universe:

Finally the likes of Feldmarschall Wilhelm Bittrich and Major Von Hapen will be able to reconstruct their most famous victories and plan assaults anew in as accurate a way as possible.

I don't think it shall be long before the Blitzkrieg returns and our rolling countryside vista changes to incorporate our little Lego fascists.

Perhaps then a lot of our social problems can be dealt with in a more efficient, effective and timely manner. On that note I shall sign off for now, but in the immortal words of a well known Austrian (no, not him, the other one) "I'll be back!"

2007-11-26T01:58:00.000-08:00

Wow.. two months and autumn have passed and I haven't had time to rant, rave or give out about anything..

How can such a situation arise you ask? Well, I've bought a house so been unpacking boxes for the past age, but gradually getting things under control and gradually finding things I need to shout about..

For instance the so called 'clamp down' on learner drivers.... seriously did they ever think that the problem would go away in just one weekend? Did they ever think they were going to get the Gardai to do their job and enforce the law? There will at least have to be one strike before things are resolved.. and even then our wonderful population of lunatic drivers will continue on their erratic way as before - probably this time with the L plates removed so the rest of us will have no warning of their incompetence. But of course our good old government reacted as oly they can - by giving themselves a payrise... seriously why are they allowed do that for themselves? surely 'conflict of interest' and 'ethics' should be involved here somewhere even if they are professional confidence tricksters... and as for our glorious HSE and our obese minister for health.. seriously there were major mistake made in the screening of women for breast cancer - surely someone is at fault? If the radiographer involved got it wrong or was aware the equipment was problematic, then surely they are a fault and should not be publicly praised for their abilities.. and yet again conflict of interest arises as the review process of this farce is being headed by one of the people who appointed said radiographer in the first place.

Who voted for these fools? I have yet to find anyone who has...

Or how about NTL - should I rant about them? Sorry Chorus -NTL, no whoops I mean UPC.. they guarantee and appointment to connect cable, you take a day off work and they never show up.. quality stuff that well after about half an hour on hold I spent half an hour shouting down the phone at them... got an apology in the end..

Another source of constant misery in this country is the banks - they won't process your e-transactions at the weekend, but they seem well able to debit your account for their own purposes on a Sunday morning. Bloody cheek. A colleague of mine also spent 30 minutes on the phone to AIB wondering why her Laser/Maestro card doesn't have a security verification number on the back of it - which renders the card useless for shopping online.

First of all the bank insisted that none of these cards have them (her partners does, mine does.. along with just about every other person's in the country). Then they tried to say that it was an older system and everywhere else was behind them in security stakes.... ehhm no think you're wrong there lady - the CVN/security number requirement is a relatively recent thing. Finally she said this numberless card was part of an older issue and it would not be possible to get a card with a number - even though the card is less than a year old and other people with the AIB have cards with security numbers... frustration mounting my colleague was obliged to curse at the voice on the end of the phone and now will be changing banks... it will be interesting to see how that goes...

In other news... recently having been stuck in traffic with one of them there 'country' types I had to listen to them give out about people sitting in traffic everyday to get to work - 'Why don't they take the bus or train' was the demand... I felt it necessary to point out that in the hour we sat in traffic not one bus went by and also that at this time of year leaves on the track tend to cause the train system to grind to a halt. The fact is there is no public transport service in this country - it's pathetic.. the recent bus strike didn't make any difference to everyone's commute because there was no difference in the standard of service provided.

I for one drive to work and probably always will. Aside from the fact that the public transport is rubbish, why should I bother sharing a bus (and the air within) with 100 disease ridden people when I can sit in my own cocoon of metal and plastic, free to shout at whomever I see fit and not having to worry that I might be getting TB from the guy in the back with the racking cough.

House related issues now - why is it people who are incompetent try to do things and leave the resulting mess behind for others to sort out?! As mentioned, I've bought a house, so was plumbing in dishwasher washing machine and dryer.. lo and behold it seems the previous occupants used a black tar-like substance to join/seal anything and everything they thought needed it.. so instead of a hose clip and piece of rubber tubing to plumb in dishwasher, they smeared the fitting in tar, covered it in tape and hoped for the best... at least there is some satisfaction for me to be had in sorting out their botches and doing it properly I suppose...

Stemming on from this is another rant about that old familiar topic.. the sheer patheticness of B&Q... yet again they amaze me in their ability to have everything and yet have nothing in a huge store, the majority of which is ridiculously over-priced... oh and incidently the majority of the plumbing fittings they carry are more suited in size/diameter etc. to the UK market and are pretty much useless here... you would think they would have figured it out by now. It was desperation that forced me to go there and exasperation that caused me to leave screaming... glad I shave my head or my hair would have been torn out. they enter the market, saturate it with rubbish, forcing more useful established business to close and yet they provide nothing. I grate my teeth every time I see those bloody big orange letters.

On the positive side of things, I am now free of Clearwire and their bloody rubbish broadband service.... the relief as I surf at speeds close to what I'm paying for is fantastic... Skype now works as it should..as does iChat and every other bog standard web based application.. oh and torrents are now accessible too.. finally the Clearwire inspired roadblocks on the information superhighway have been broken down...

I suppose I should also have a go at the misfit performance of the Irish rugby team at the recent world cup, but I'm afraid I'm still so annoyed at the lack of accountability being displayed that I'll have to leave that for a while longer yet.

I think that's enough for now... over and out.

2007-09-29T12:29:00.000-07:00

Ok, I know at times I can drink a little too much and my memory/recollection of events may be a little affected by this however this one astounded me so much I made sure to check things in the light of day (at the beginning of another session) and it wasn't the absinthe fairy leading me on - I had indeed seen the following slogan/advert on a prophylactic vending machine when I went to relieve myself during a night out in Dublin:

"Safex Condoms: Protection for a new generation"

As you can tell, I was pretty amazed by this - surely the whole point in using a condom is that it is protection AGAINST a new generation.. not for?

Perhaps this is the reason there are so many velour tracksuited mingers pushing prams around the city with their belly hanging out? Maybe it's not actually a career move for them - perhaps they are taking precautions but they are placing their faith in the wrong device?

Maybe this is how the Roman Catholic church is trying to back away from the controversy it caused when, during JP II's time in office, the Vatican was found to be investing in condom making companies whilst also actively discouraging their use as against the will of God....

It might just be possible their thinking goes something along the lines of "Well, we don't agree with their use so ours don't really work".

This also gives them the added bonus of increasing the numbers of the population that are likely to stick with the Church - the lower scummier elements of society that need some sort of crutch - be it alcohol, nicotine, harder drugs or that wondrous opiate of the masses Religion..

Whatever the conspiracy is, there is no doubting that the slogan Safex are using is a little pathetic.. you have to wonder who approved it-- maybe there was an Irish politician's brother/cousin or other such relative involved in it....

It will be interesting to see if they revise the campaign sometime... it may be something akin to that incessantly annoying L'Oreal campaign where various 'celeb' types were paid millions to go on tv and tell us they 'I'm worth it' - it didn't take them long to realise how glib that sounded and that campaign was revised to 'You're worth it'.

I guess in some ways the marketing has worked - I'm talking about it after all, but I imagine they would prefer I was being positive about the products in question.. well i'm not.. I think it's pathetic that people can earn ridiculous amounts of money for such idiocy via advertising.. maybe I should start coming up with slogans.. or perhaps I should just carry on with my 'Buy me chips' campaign.....

2007-09-13T10:47:00.000-07:00

They may have revolutionized the home entertainment supply industry, introduced viable competition and reduced prices but I can't help get the feeling that CDWOW has now given up with regards tot he provision of a quality service. I had noticed since January that any CDs/DVDs ordered from them were taking longer than usual to arrive, and this culminated in one order taking over a month to show up. This situation has now come to a head as I go not my third month waiting for a CD from them. I contact them about it, get a stock delay standard reply and hear nothing else until I contact them again. I have also tried canceling the order twice but again to no avail.... anybody else having such difficulties?!

The initial order was placed on the 1st of July:

Hello,

Thank you for placing your order with us here at CD WOW!

We are writing to you regarding your order for: Icky Thump by WHITE STRIPES 

The arrival of stock from our supplier has been further delayed unfortunately. The advised shipping date for this title is now the 27/07/2007

As soon as we are able to ship this item to you we will send you an e-mail confirming despatch.

From the date of despatch, please allow up to 7 working days for delivery within the UK.

Please also rest assured that the delay to this item will not affect any other items that you may have ordered from us.

We will notify you immediately if there are any further updates with regards to this title.

Sincere apologies for any inconvenience caused by this delay.

Kind regards


CD WOW! Customer Service
http://www.cd-wow.com/myorders.php

AND THEN:

Hello

Thank you for placing your order with us here at CD WOW!

We are writing to you regarding your order for: Icky Thump by WHITE STRIPES 

The arrival of stock from our supplier has been further delayed unfortunately. The advised shipping date for this title is now the 3/08/2007

As soon as we are able to ship this item to you we will send you an e-mail confirming despatch.

From the date of despatch, please allow up to 7 working days for delivery within the UK.

Please also rest assured that the delay to this item will not affect any other items that you may have ordered from us.

We will notify you immediately if there are any further updates with regards to this title.

Sincere apologies for any inconvenience caused by this delay.

Kind regards


CD WOW! Customer Service
http://www.cd-wow.com/myorders.php


AND THEN I CONTACTED THEM AFTER FURTHER DELAY:
From: Customer@web8.cd-wow.com [mailto:Customer@web8.cd-wow.com] 
Sent: 31 July 2007 12:19
To: help@cd-wow.com
Subject: Customer mail - RE.C/S General

The following customer mail was received:

Name: Hilton 
Email: 
User Number:
Site: www.cdwow.ie

Body of message follows:

Name: Hilton Email Address: 
Comments: 

Hi,

I placed an order a month ago - order no. XXXXXXXX.
I am still waiting on two of the items on the order - The White Stripes -
Icky Thump and Johnny Cash - Personal File.
Whilst I have been contacted regarding The White Stripes delay, there has
been no mention of why I have not received the Johnny Cash album I ordered.

A months delay and little communication is not the standard of service I
expect from CDWOW.

Whilst I have been waiting on my CDs I have received countless mail outs
from you to get me to purchase more items. I feel your time would be better
spent dispatching existing orders without delay.

I would appreciate acknowledgment of this issue and am awaiting its speedy
resolution.

Regards,

Hilton.


THEY REPLIED:
Hi,

Thank you for contacting me and sorry for the delay in dispatching these
items.

Unfortunately, we have experienced a delay in receiving this product "WHITE
STRIPES - Icky Thump" from our suppliers and we are currently expecting it
to be dispatched on 06/08/2007.

Regarding the other item unfortunately, I am currently unable to advise of a
confirmed shipping date for this item - as we are still awaiting information
from our suppliers.

I can appreciate that you may not wish to wait any longer, and would
understand if you would prefer to have the item cancelled and refunded.

If this is the case then please get back to me and I will see to it
immediately

Once again, thank you for your patience in this matter.


Kind Regards

Nicole
CD WOW! Customer Services
www.cd-wow.com


TO WHICH I REPLIED 'CANCEL IT AND ISSUE ME WITH A REFUND'
THE JOHNNY CASH CD WAS SHIPPED THE NEXT DAY.
I ALSO REALISED THERE WAS A SECOND ORDER OUTSTANDING SO CONTACTED THEM REGARDING IT:

Hi,

This is the second outstanding order I have with you. ( I emailed them details - a CD by Idlewild)
Can you please tell me when I will be receiving this item?

It has been almost 2 months since I ordered it.

Hilton

THEY REPLIED:

Hi

Thank you for contacting us although please accept our sincere apologies for
the inconvenience caused here.

Unfortunately, we have experienced a delay in receiving this product from
our suppliers and we are currently awaiting confirmation of when the goods
will be available for dispatch.

As soon as we have this information, we will let you know by email.

I can fully appreciate the disappointment caused by this delay and should
you wish to cancel your order for this item for a full refund, please could
I ask you kindly to get back to me and confirm this and I will gladly assist
you immediately upon receipt of your reply.

Apologies once again for the inconvenience caused as it certainly wasn't our
intention and thank you for your patience and understanding.


If there is anything else I can do for you please don't hesitate to get back
to me.

Kind Regards


Kim

TO WHICH I REPLIED 'CANCEL IT'

This order was dispatched two days later and arrived within a week.

Now back to the original missing order (which I've already asked them to cancel) Guess what - they haven't cancelled it, and it's delayed again:

Hello,

Thank you for placing your order with us here at CD WOW!

We are writing to you regarding your order for: Icky Thump by WHITE STRIPES 

The arrival of stock from our supplier has been further delayed unfortunately. The advised shipping date for this title is now the 17/08/2007.

As soon as we are able to ship this item to you we will send you an e-mail confirming despatch.

From the date of despatch, please allow up to 7 working days for delivery within the UK.

Please also rest assured that the delay to this item will not affect any other items that you may have ordered from us.

We will notify you immediately if there are any further updates with regards to this title.

Sincere apologies for any inconvenience caused by this delay.

Kind regards


CD WOW! Customer Service
http://www.cd-wow.com/myorders.php

I REPLIED AGAIN:

Name: Hilton Email Address: 
Comments: CD WOW! Order Delay: Icky Thump by WHITE STRIPES [order
#XXXXXXXXXXX]

Can you please advise me of the status of this order. It has now been almost
two months since the order was placed and I have still not received it. This
standard of service is pathetic. 

THEIR TURN NOW:
Hi,

Thank you for contacting me and sorry for the delay in dispatching this
item.

Unfortunately, we have experienced a delay in receiving this product from
our suppliers and we are currently expecting it to be dispatched on the
following date:

03-09-2007

Once again, sorry for the inconvenience caused to you by this delay, and
thank you very much for your patience - it is sincerely appreciated.

If you require any further assistance at this time then please do not
hesitate to get back to me.

Kind Regards,

Lisa
CD WOW! Customer Services
www.cd-wow.com

AT THIS POINT I'M WONDERING WHY THEY DON'T JUST GO OUT, BUY A FEW COPIES AND POST THEM ON.. AND THEN...
Hello,

Thank you for placing your order with us here at CD WOW!

We are writing to you regarding your order for: Icky Thump by WHITE STRIPES 

The arrival of stock from our supplier has been further delayed unfortunately. The advised shipping date for this title is now the 3/09/2007.

As soon as we are able to ship this item to you we will send you an e-mail confirming despatch.

From the date of despatch, please allow up to 7 working days for delivery within the UK.

Please also rest assured that the delay to this item will not affect any other items that you may have ordered from us.

We will notify you immediately if there are any further updates with regards to this title.

Sincere apologies for any inconvenience caused by this delay.


Kind regards

CD WOW! Customer Service
http://www.cd-wow.com/myorders.php

AND THEN:
Hello,

Thank you for placing your order with us here at CD WOW!

We are writing to you regarding your order for: Icky Thump by WHITE STRIPES 

The arrival of stock from our supplier has been further delayed unfortunately. The advised shipping date for this title is now the 10/09/2007

As soon as we are able to ship this item to you we will send you an e-mail confirming despatch.

From the date of despatch, please allow up to 7 working days for delivery within the UK.

Please also rest assured that the delay to this item will not affect any other items that you may have ordered from us.

We will notify you immediately if there are any further updates with regards to this title.

Sincere apologies for any inconvenience caused by this delay.


Kind regards,

CD WOW! Customer Service
http://www.cd-wow.com/myorders.php


AND THEN:

Well, so far nothing - I'm still waiting.... it will be interesting to see how long this goes on for.. especially since they are refusing to cancel my order.....

CDWOW aren't the only ones whose service has gone downhill though - I've also experienced problems with Play.com and Sendit.com.... and Amazon's shipping charges to the Republic of Ireland are pathetically expensive...
All in all online shopping has degenerated into a very frustrating experience....

2007-08-16T04:39:00.000-07:00

First Proper Post Under New Conditions..

Righto here we go in the new surroundings. Pictured above a Range Rover Sport HSE.
Why? well it's the lead in I'm using to rant about the nouveau rich and their chav-like crassness.

Don't you just hate these people who do nothing with their lives except perhaps key tap a bit here and there and all of a sudden they are a member of this fabled group of 'paper millionaires'?! Leaving the rest of us sloggers to chip away and pay the bill.. (or in my case avoid it by becoming a member of the fabled 'eternal student' groups..)

Anyway these 'once was lost now am found, once was broke now am theoretically rich' types just can't seem to help but flash their wad - akin to Harry Enfield's over blown 'loadsa money' character they roam around inevitably becoming asset rich but cash poor, just to have the latest thingamy wwhatsit encrusted in diamonds to show off - and that's the galling part. Fair enough you have money, fair play and congratulations. Well done you, but seriously practicality and functionality still should rule... buy the latest tech sure, but going down the ostentatious showy diamond encrusted route is just obnoxious! I mean by all means buy a Range Rover, but buy a proper one - not the jumped up Discovery hybrid that is the Range Rover sport - leave that to the gangsta rappers and ghetto heads... I'll repeat again - You can't buy class and things like this make it painfully obvious - there is a whole market out there now dedicated to those involved in a pissing competition of astronomical preportions. the joke really is on these people - if they were used to money, they'd be restrained and subtle about spending it instead of advertising and flashing it about like there's no tomorrow... although herein lies the route of the problem - for a lot of these folk, there is actually no tomorrow - markets are crashing, economies are slowing.. looks like the good times are at an end now... belts will have to be tightened all round. I'm happy to be restrained - give me cash rich and asset poor anyday...

2007-08-14T06:14:00.000-07:00

Well it seems my previous provider has transmogrified into a new portal that I don't like very much (for a start they now don't allow comments unless registered.. what's with that?!!) so I'm trying this one on for size instead. As a result I fear all previous posts and comments are to be assigned to the great data junkpile in the sky. The old providers 'very kindly' have provided a mostly useless tool to export photos etc. but the random bouts of wit, composition and all round hilarity are all left behind. This is VERY FRUSTRATING, but times they are a changing and it's adapt or die, so here I am trying to figure it all out again.... Stay tuned and hopefully things will improve. The address is still http://www.hiltononline.net/ but RSS feeds/subscriptions will have to be changed.. sorry for the inconvenience!