Check out the Dublin 1916 – Then and Now page on Facebook. It’s a real treat for history lovers. Lots and lots of images from 1916 with corresponding photographs taken from same location today.

I took the liberty of creating a composite of two of the images of Georges Quay/Tara street then and now as I’ve been doing similar with images from Wicklow that I’ve found.

[Found via World Irish]

Bit at the bottom by me.

What bothers me about the story is

There were no conditions imposed for the use of these funds and no obligation on Mrs McAleese to return any unused sums during or at the end of her 14 years in the post.

I don’t understand why there is no obligation on McAleese or any other person in public office to return unused public money.

I don’t understand why this money is reported as being “gifted” to the State.

It was an allowance paid monthly in to the Áras househould account and “drawn down as required”.

The Presidential Allowance is provided to the head of state to cover certain costs associated with the office including all official hospitality at the residence, Áras an Uachtaráin.

This includes dinners, lunches, receptions, garden parties and visits by other heads of state, such as Britain’s Queen Elizabeth and US president Barack Obama.

Why does an allowance to run the Áras revert to a President when they leave office?

It’s deeply depressing to me that we live in a country where McAleese returning a chunk of money is the exception rather than the rule.

Facebook’s Organ Donor iniative announced yesterday is a great idea. I’ve seen a few comments along the lines of “How will putting a timeline event be any use to a doctor. They can’t see your timeline”. This misses the point that it’s all about spreading awareness.

Facebook has only added the specific organ donor event to US and UK Facebook accounts. The Journal.ie reports today that the Irish Kidney Association is

“considering approaching Facebook to discuss the possible introduction of the feature”

There’s actually no need to wait for Facebook to do anything. Everyone has the ability to add their own life event and give it a name and in the description include a link to the Irish Kidney Association where a donor card can be ordered as well.

As I’ve been doing Facebook covers for Wiser.ie for a while now, I thought a Facebook cover image would be a good idea as well – all part of raising awareness.

I have posted the Facebook image and some instructions on updating your Facebook timeline to say organ donor on the Wiser.ie Facebook covers page.

Medical cards for people who are dead, have left the country or are no longer entitled to them are costing the taxpayer as much as €210m a year.

A major review of payments to GPs who treat medical card patients has found large numbers of “redundant cards” are still being paid for by the exchequer — despite there being no need for their existence.

The report by consultancy firm Pricewaterhouse Coopers (wonder how much they charged?) says the “ghost” cards are costing between €65m and €210m every year.

A HSE spokesperson said the figures are an estimate and “cannot be relied on for any purpose other than providing a broad understanding of the potential scale of excess expenditure”, and that the “PwC review was commissioned to highlight where excess expenditure through the scheme is taking place”.

It’s extremely worrying and unacceptable that a public body has no clue how much money is being overspent and that it could be anywhere up to almost A QUARTER OF A BILLION.

This is just one example of stories I read daily and shake my head and wonder why on earth people are in jobs in the public service and clearly not doing the job properly. If this was a private company, arses would be kicked hard to find out why profits were going down the drain and a deadline would be set to fix the problem.

We can hire thousands of temporary people to work at Census time so I don’t see why people can’t be hired to do whatever work is needed to save money. Or maybe just fire whatever clowns in the HSE are so complacent that they give a mealy mouthed reply to the Examiner when it reports on possible overspend of up to €210 MILLION.

Wicklow Gaol have been doing offers on various deal websites lately offering significant discount over the normal entry price. The one above was on GrabOne but I’ve seen similar on Living Social and a special adventure package offered through Groupon.

The €9 deal for a family v normal price of €19 is a great deal, as are the other options as well (€2 v €4.50 for a child and €3 v €7.30 for an adult).

The deal on Grabone was very popular. 396 people bought the deal. If I remember correctly, a good number of those 396 were family tickets. It’s likely that a lot of those who bought are from Dublin, so it’s a great way to get people down to Wicklow for the day and (hopefully) spend a few extra quid too.

Deal sites take a big percentage of the sale price for the privilege of gaining access to their large email lists. Out of a €9 family ticket, the Gaol probably only sees €5 or €6 out of that (or possibly less). I do understand that, for a business or tourist attraction, the deal sites are offering relatively cheap advertising. Even if a person doesn’t buy the deal when offered, it will be in their mind as a place to visit in the future.

Despite the Gaol being right on my doorstep, I’ve never taken the tour. Seeing this deal reminded me that it might be about time to do so. I contacted the Gaol to see if I could buy discounted tickets directly. I was told they were only available on the deals site.

This doesn’t make sense to me.

I wanted to avail of the deal and pay in person – meaning the Gaol would keep all of the money rather than the deal site keeping a chunk for themselves. A local attraction like Wicklow Gaol could easily do a push to get more locals in the door by offering discount deals directly. Wicklow News reports that the Gaol received a grant of €192,000 for essential maintenance works to secure its future. That is a shortfall of €48,000 from a total requirement of €240,000 to do all the work necessary.

I’m willing to bet that most people in Wicklow town haven’t actually taken the tour. That’s a big potential market right on the doorstop. Having a locals discount week that lets the Gaol keep all of the takings would go some way to making up the €48k funding shortfall.

When Mike and I started Instagram nearly two years ago, we set out to change and improve the way the world communicates and shares. We’ve had an amazing time watching Instagram grow into a vibrant community of people from all around the globe. Today, we couldn’t be happier to announce that Instagram has agreed to be acquired by Facebook.

When Mike and I started Instagram nearly two years ago, we had our eye on being acquired. All this bullshit talk about changing the way the world communicates and shares just sounds better in interviews. No one would use our product if they thought we just wanted to make shedloads of moolah.

WOOHOO – we got a BILLION.. WOOO.

Every day that passes, we see more experiences being shared through Instagram in ways that we never thought possible. It’s because of our dedicated and talented team that we’ve gotten this far, and with the support and cross-pollination of ideas and talent at a place like Facebook, we hope to create an even more exciting future for Instagram and Facebook alike.

Hipsters all over the world spend hours taking photos of the most mundane random shit at odd angles and like to pretend they are the second coming of Ansel Adams. Our programmers work very hard to cater for this deluded demographic. We look forward to the day when everyone on the planet has run a filter on a photograph of a salt cellar, printed it, framed it and given it to their mother as a birthday gift and then seeing the look of sheer disappointment in her eyes as she realises she has failed as a parent.

YES – A FUCKING BILLION – WE CAN’T BELIEVE IT EITHER..

It’s important to be clear that Instagram is not going away. We’ll be working with Facebook to evolve Instagram and build the network. We’ll continue to add new features to the product and find new ways to create a better mobile photos experience.

Over the coming months we will become Mark Zuckerberg’s bitches as we work closely with him to find a way to fuck the product up and make it shit.

The Instagram app will still be the same one you know and love. You’ll still have all the same people you follow and that follow you.You’ll still be able to share to other social networks. And you’ll still have all the other features that make the app so fun and unique.
We’re psyched to be joining Facebook and are excited to build a better Instagram for everyone.

You can continue using Instagram the same way you always did. We’re still trying to understand why anyone would really want to turn a photograph into not-quite-a-photograph, but if it ain’t broke, we’re sure to break it with the help of Facebook going forward.

Best,
Kevin

CEO, Instagram

Yours in disbelief that we got a BILLION…

Kevin.

Making a cup of tea at home is a task that most parents will allow their kids to do from the age of 9 once they are sure it is safe to allow them to do it. Ask parents if they’d allow their child to make pots of tea for teachers in school and I reckon most wouldn’t allow it. The school wouldn’t even think of asking a child to do it anyway for fear of an accident happening & an insurance claim resulting.

Back in the 70s when I was in national school, there was a tea making rota. My classmates and I would take it in turns to go to the staff room and have the tea made for all the teachers before morning and afternoon breaks. It was (I think) only the students in 5th or 6th class that did the tea making. Being on the roster that week was great. It meant getting out of class 15 minutes before break time to boil the water and have the tea piping hot for the poor weary teachers who needed to maximise their downtime. I loved walking through the empty, silent corridors on the way up to the staff room to do the honours. It felt like an important job. It wasn’t just boiling the water and measuring out the tea leaves and putting the kettle on the gas. It was putting all the cups, biscuits, sugar and milk out on the tables too.

When I think of these tea making days, I also think of Luke Kelly-Melia, who has cerebral palsy. His parents took the decision to home school him as the school he attends in Co. Cavan would not allow his assistance dog accompany him to classes.His life has been transformed with the help of the dog. His mother said :

“We used to worry all the time about him falling backwards and hitting his head — but now when he wobbles, the dog stops and they steady themselves before continuing on again.”

Just before Christmas, the school’s board of management informed Luke’s parents that they would give “consideration to the matter” of allowing the dog onto school premises. It’s a bit unclear as to why exactly the dog is not allowed onto the premises. The article in the Irish Independent says the school asked the parents for a written request to be considered by the board and that the dog should not be brought to school until a decision was made.

Just reading between the lines, I just wonder if the reason could be that the school is afraid of any claims against it in the (highly unlikely) event of a trained help dog scratching or biting another student. Which brings me back full circle to tea making. Schools wouldn’t allow kids to handle boiling kettles of water today. Schools are afraid to let kids run in playgrounds in case they fall and parents make a claim against the school for negligence.

It’s a sad state of affairs when a country is so steeped in a culture of blame that it extends to stopping childhood play or (possibly in this case) a child bringing a trained dog to school.

I hope Luke returns to school soon and a fuller picture emerges as to the reasons behind the board of managements decision to stop his dog helping him along the way.

Visited Newgrange last Friday for the first time since a school tour many sunrises ago. Being only 9 or 10 at the time, I have vague recollections of the visit. I know that the visitor centre wasn’t built yet so buses would have pulled up close to the monument itself.

Today, the Brú na Bóinne centre provides visitors with an audio visual presentation of the history of the site before boarding the mini bus for the short drive to the monument.

Only 48 people per hour can take the bus journey, so you are advised to arrive early during peak season to ensure you get a place on one of the tours as there are no pre-bookings. The reason for the specific number of people per hour? Only 24 can fit inside the chamber at Newgrange.

We joined the 3:15pm tour and the bus was filled with a mixture of Irish, American, Australian, English and Indian people. It takes only 5 minutes to get from the visitor centre to the monument, so it wasn’t long before catching the first up close glimpse of this 5,000 year old ancient wonder.

After a 10 minute talk by our Irish speaking tour guide, one group of 24 entered the chamber whilst the other group took 10 to 15 minutes to walk outside. It’s all organised very well.

I always imagined the passageway leading to the chamber was longer, but it is quite short and a bit of a squeeze for some of the larger folk in the group. Some grunting and groaning could be heard at the narrowest part of the passageway

It was amazing to stand in the chamber and look up at the roof and how all of this was constructed without the modern machinery we have today. No water has ever penetrated through the roof. The Irish in the group had a bit of a giggle when the guide told us this and added “unlike some of the properties we have today in Ireland”.

Then it was time for some magic. The lights were turned off and we were in complete darkness. I’ve never experienced complete and utter darkness like that. Then slowly, a sliver of orange light creeped along the passageway and illuminated the 24 living souls pinned as far back to the walls as possible, so all could see the light make it’s way to the centre of the chamber. A really magical moment.

All to soon it was time to leave the chamber and make our way back to the light, climb the steps outside and pass by the chamber stone which separates the living from the dead.

Next day, we stopped off in Ikea on the way home. In between the heavy showers of rain, the sun shone brighly into the restaurant as we sat eating our lunch. I couldn’t help but be struck by the contrast between the ancient monument of Newgrange and this modern monument of our times.

I wonder will future generations ever stand and marvel at what we have created in our time, as we stand today and marvel at what our ancestors created in their time.

I really encourage you to make the trip to Newgrange if, like me, you’ve only ever visited once with a school tour. If you’ve never been at all, well you *really* should. Make a day of it and take your children if you have them. Get them to write or draw something about their visit so that when they grow up and visit again, they have something to jog their memory about their first time experiencing that orange light filling the darkness.

It’s hardly a shock to learn that newspapers, like each and every one of us, have axes to grind. In this case, it would appear that the reporter in question doesn’t like Mr. Dawkins very much. I could hazard a guess as to why he might not like the man, but that would get away from the point of this post.

The Telegraph article wouldn’t have come to my attention were it not for Graham Linehan’s tweet which reached my timeline via a retweet. I don’t follow well known faces on Twitter generally. I find that if there is anything interesting to be gleaned from their timeline, it will eventually find its way to me. Anywho, here’s what he tweeted:

Glinner

(Graham Linehan)

What a pathetic rag The Telegraph is. http://t.co/5nCuokkj

On 19-2-2012 10:02:57 from Tweetbot for iOS

Isn’t it funny that a newspaper which was lauded in 2009 for their MPs’ expenses expose, is suddenly deemed to be a pathetic rag. From heroes to wankers because of a silly article.

I guess Linehan was reacting to the ridiculous and malicious way the Telegraph reporter spun the piece for his own ends. As a publisher himself (and everyone is a publisher nowadays we are told), Linehan is well able to employ spin to suit his own agenda. I give you this mischievious little tweet :

Glinner

(Graham Linehan)

Holy shit! Guess what the age of consent in Vatican city is? http://www.avert.org/age-of-consent.htm?12

On 29-1-2010 15:50:15 from Echofon

This was retweeted well over 300 times by his followers, and almost 200 times by @qikipedia. The combined number of followers for @glinner and @qikipedia (at current count) is 1/3 of a BILLION people.

The real fact of the matter is that when the Vatican was created under the terms of the Lateran Pacts of 1929, Vatican city inherited the laws and penal codes of Italy, which was 12 (it is now 14) .The Vatican has a population of around 800, mostly consisting of clergy, Swiss Guards and other staff. There are no families or children living there. The age of consent is hardly relevant.

The intent behind the tweet is what is really important though. Linehan got upset because a Telegraph reporter with an axe to grind published an article which was unfair and used irrelevant facts to paint the subject (Dawkins) in a bad light. And yet, Linehan did exactly the same thing with his tweet which reached 1/3 of a billion people.

“Holy shit! Guess what the age of consent in Vatican city is..”

A headline worthy of the Sun. A headline designed to get people clicking. A headline driven by the point of view that “all priests are paedophiles”. The very same warped thinking that resulted in RTE Prime Time destroying a man’s reputation.

So, next time you see the almighty twitter god that is Graham Linehan bemoaning the sneaky tricks the newspapers and other media use to suit their own agendas, remember he’s not averse to doing the exact same thing himself.

Down with that sort of thing….