The first year I had the van, aged 23, I paid out over €1,700 for comprehensive insurance on a first provisional license.

When the letter from SGS (driving test) came in the door a few months back to tell me I would be sitting my test on June 26th I thought it couldn’t have come at a better time. My license would be up for renewal come August, along with the insurance - failing the test would mean moving onto a second provisional and possibily reducing the cost of the insurance. Passing the test would mean a full license and a definite reduction in insurance.

So, delighted as I am having turned 25 in May, passing the driving test in June and picking up my insurance quote from Quinn Direct in the post today to offer me insurance at €560 give or take a few pennies.

The no-claims bonus was represented a saving of around €190 so when you take charges into account (for direct debit payments), I’m still left with an additional saving of around €430 having turned 25 and earned a full license.

Now to direct that saving into something nice…

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I find myself with downtime in venues and restaurants where no laptops go, or where there’s no wifi signal to be found. That said, the Watergate Theatre were kind enough to allow me use of their connection to make the occasional tweet, check email etc.

During the Trainspotting run I pulled out a piece of paper and marked all the dates for July on it noticing more Xs (away) than spaces (home) between evenings and weekends. August, not so bad.

So now I look towards a mobile broadband solution. I’ve been tempted once again by O2 and their reduced offer for the summer months (€19.99p/m and a modem for €19.99). Having spoken with Bernie Goldbach and some O2 support people, the thoughts of running a 3G sim through an iPhone are quite tempting (my desire for an iPhone exists as a secondary phone to my N95 8GB though the 3G model has me very interested).

Pat wonders why there is no interest in the 3G iPhone though I’ll agree that the price and dataplans are a pain in the arse. Is it possible to pick up a 3G iPhone away from O2 (I’m happy on my current contract, thanks) but fire a 3G datasim in there from the broadband dongle? If so, sign me up.

When I find myself in Sligo (such as this weekend and at least 2 of the next 3 weekends), my options are limited around the lake but there are healthy signals 2-3 miles away which I don’t mind the short spin in the van for.

I’ve recently added another musical promotion string to my bow so it would certainly make work life that bit easier.

Perhaps I’m just trying to convince myself to go out and get it sorted. Lifehacker’s guide to sharing your internet connection from your iPhone to your MacBook Pro also has me wondering.

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The last two weeks have been rather intense in the world of Ken as I’ve been preparing for Trainspotting (in which I play Tommy) with The Devious Theatre Company. Hit the office at 8:30am, leave in time for rehearsals at 6, get home for 10, hit the bed and start the cycle again.

Of course, next week is no different barring the fact I’m actually taking some time for myself outside of the office, allowing the catch up on sleep and focus on the fact that Trainspotting runs for five nights in Kilkenny next week.

It’s been a bit of a risk on the part of the company going into the production. I certainly can’t think of anything like it that’s been attempted in Kilkenny in the past, or in the Watergate Theatre for that matter, but such is the ethos of the company. We’re constantly looking for performance pieces to suit our own age group (mid to late twenties), works that we would happily swap the cinema for or the pub for and I would hope we’ve nailed that thought right on the head with Trainspotting.

I’ve spent the last eight weeks working as producer on the show outside of rehearsal hours while getting to grips with Scottish accents, the understanding of heroin use and addiction and a lot more besides.

If you want to catch an interesting piece of theatre by an amateur company boasting professional ambitions, then drop along to the Watergate Theatre in Kilkenny from June 24 to June 28. Tickets for the show are only €12 nightly, kick off set for 8pm and we’ll try have you in the pub for a post show drink and a chat by 10pm.

You can follow some rehearsal blog posts and catch the promo artwork and teaser posters for each character by visiting DeviousTheatre.com.

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If you’re interested, you can follow the Summize output for ‘WWDC’ by clicking here or get the all encompassing feed of ‘WWDC, Apple, iPhone and Steve Jobs’ by clicking here.

The Australian Macintosh Community has live coverage available on MacTalk Australia while you can also track Macworld’s coverage here.

Though the event was sold out well in advance, Apple will be publishing sessions videos from across the week for purchase via iTunes. You can of course check the official Apple Developer Connection site for more on the WWDC.

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Engadget Mobile reports via Reuters that this Monday or Tuesday will see Italian mobile carrier TIM announce the availability of a 3G model of the iPhone, certainly something more suitable at present for potential Irish users.

Though I would be quite happy to bag an iPhone without 3G capability, the addition of the 3G service would certainly push me closer to picking one up as a second phone (yes, a *second* phone as I love my N95 a bit too much), with the option of running the iPhone as a strict data phone only.

Touch.net (translated from Italian) are reporting the launch date to be June 9/10, following an announcement from the US, presumably at Apple’s Worldwide Developer Conference being held in San Francisco next week.

Quadband GSM, triband HSDPA and GPS are all said to be a runner (see here) on the new model of the phone, along with a stylish new black design (black is the new black don’t you know) and a fwe aesthetic modifications.

Let’s wait and see what happens on Monday, shall we?

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None of the online converters I tried seemed to be working (one wanted a “lifetime” fee of US$5 to access to a conversion tool). Microsoft, on the other hand, released a beta converter for OSX that will convert your unreadable .docx documents to DOC / RTF format allowing them to be opened and edited. Via Microsoft…

Microsoft Office Open XML File Format Converter for Mac 0.2.1 (Beta)

This version of the converter extends the expiration date for this beta release.

This version of the converter can convert the following Open XML file formats:

• Word Document (*.docx)
• Word Macro-Enabled Document (*.docm)
• PowerPoint Presentation (*.pptx)
• PowerPoint Show (*.ppsx)
• PowerPoint Template (*.potx)

The converter is a Beta release, and might be unable to convert all the data in Open XML files. After you convert a file, you should review the file carefully to make sure that it contains all of the information that you expect. For a complete list of known issues, install and open the converter, and then on the Help menu, click Office Converter Help.

This Beta release expires on December 31, 2008.

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As converters go, it does exactly what it says on the tin. It installs with ease into your Applications folder then works on a drag-and-drop basis i.e. drag your unreadable document onto the app window and presto, one readable and workable document. You can find it by clicking here.

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Here are 25 “things” - moments, achievements, memories that jump out at me from over the years. They’re in no apparant

1. Getting a bike for my fourth birthday.
2. Learned to play piano.
3. Learned to play guitar. Musical instruments offer so much creative freedom and release.
4. Got involved in theatre (first production was a lead in a musical aged 15).
5. Graduated college and collected my shiny 1.1 degree which still sits in the roll it came in.
6. Started my own business. If it’s ever crossed your mind to do it, do it. I’ve learned some fantastic lessons and met some great clients over the past few years.
7. Started a theatre company.
8. Started KilkennyMusic.com (which has opened so many doors).
9. Formed a band (and another. And another. And another).
10. Heard my music played on the radio.
11. Started podcasting.
12. Started blogging and met all you mad, wonderful people.
13. Traveled around Europe growing up.
14. The fantastic relationship I’ve got with my family, however extended and scattered they become over the years.
15. Put myself on the track to fitness in 2008… and it’s working.
16. Traveled to America, Canada.
17. Directed Cannibal! The Musical after waiting seven years to take it to the stage.
18. Learning how to swim and subsequently bodyboard, surf and kayak - all three of which I need to do more often.
19. Falling in love… and out of love.
20. Skiing for the first time in Italy back in ‘98.
21. Rubbing raw chilis in my eyes (accidentally, I’d been cooking at the time) on that same skiing trip. When I reached for water I found neat vodka. You couldn’t script the comedy of mishaps that occurred that evening.
22. Learned how to drive
23. First road trip to Sligo on my own… great adventure
24. Lahinch 2007 with the KKM crew and my brother (subsequently returning home looking like a lobster).
25. 25 years living, working, eating, drinking and breathing in Kilkenny, home to some of the best people on the face of the planet!

Not quite a techy post but something a little light to round out the month. I’m off in search of some type of beer, possibly some form of comedy and a meet up with friends later.

Enjoy your bank holiday weekend.

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What we can tell you at this early stage is that the day will be bigger than last year, it will be held in Kilkenny again, and PodCamp Ireland will take place on Saturday September 27th (same weekend as last year).

For the first themed BarCamp event of it’s type (towards podcasting and new media), we enjoyed a successful day in Kilkenny last September, opening the unconference doors to a host of new faces from the world of the arts, music, design and more.

Bolstering content on the day through new areas of discussion and development in audio, video, podcasting, blogging and catering for complete newcomers to experienced hands, we’ll be hoping to repeat the success of last year’s inaugural event.

If you are interested in getting involved in steering the day, lending ahead at any possible point, do get in touch with any of us. Blogging should resume on PodCampIreland.com over the coming days and weeks as we rejig the 2007 signup process to fall in line with the current system enjoyed by 3DCamp and CreativeCamp (i.e. there will be no wiki signup process as there was last year).

You can track PodCamp Ireland developments on Jaiku by visiting the PodCamp Ireland channel, or over on Twitter track the #pci tag.

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Brendan Mac Evilly is one of those behind the site and as a special launch promotion, those looking to advertise jobs online can do so for free up to June 1st of this year with a €50 listing fee kicking in from that date onwards. Other opportunities and postings remain free.

CreativeCareers.ie also features an arts directory and a list of third level college courses in the creative field. At present they’re also looking for individuals who can offer professional career advice for those seeking employment in the arts industry in Ireland. There are job listings in categories like Arts & Cultural Management, Arts/Creative Education, Design, Digital Media, Film, TV, Radio and more.

As well as job listings you’ll also find (which I know will interest some readers) volunteer and inter positions, whether volunteers are required for a day, a weekend or working up to an interns position outright. Two such events include the upcoming Eigse Arts Festival in Carlow and the Dublin Writers Festival.

Give it a look on CreativeCareers.ie. If you’re looking for work in the arts, you might just find something.

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On Saturday night I made my way to the premiere of Vultures epsiode 2: The Scarlet Lady Vanishes held in my home away from home of Cleere’s Theatre in Kilkenny.

Vultures is the flagship production of fledgling film company, Mycrofilms, based in Kilkenny and engineered by three great friends of mine. Like ourselves at KilkennyMusic.com, Mycrofilms have just received some arts office funding for 2008 which will enable them to complete the series, production wrapping on the sixth episode by next summer.

While I enjoyed the first episode immensely, the guys have raised the bar for the second episode which was extremely well received on the night. Even if it’s just for the music video montage early in the show, do, give The Scarlet Lady Vanishes a look.

Running time on this one is a bit shorter at around the half hour mark (compared to the TV hour of the first episode).

For more on the show, check out VulturesPI.com.

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• Over 40 like-minded people with backgrounds as entrepreneurs, people in startups, investors, those with a love of technology and business and beyond…
• Talks on providing wifi in remote areas, Twitterfone demos and giveaways, location-based services, mobile applications and likely loads more besides.
• Childcare services on the day (great to see this as it was one of the points raised out of CreativeCamp in Kilkenny in March)
• Food, beer, a pub, a lake and the opportunity to network with a terrific bunch of people.

Hopefully the weather stays good and there’ll be some outdoor activities or talks as well. While I haven’t quite figured out if I’ll be able to attend (might get up for the afternoon as I’m gigging that night in Kilkenny) you can register your own interest here or if you are interested in giving a demo or a talk then use this signup link.

Kick-off is 11am on the day and ends “when the last person goes home”. As such, Evert & co. have been nice enough to provide a list of accommodation in the area as well.

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Next weekend (not this weekend) sees the inaugural 3DCamp take place at University of Limerick, the next in the line of themed BarCamp events running in Ireland. The attendees and speakers list continues to grow for what should be a very focused and very informative day covering virtual worlds, mirror worlds, mashups, haptics and all things 3D.

If you’ve never been to a BarCamp type event and the world of 3D grabs your attention then ditch the inhibitions and mark May 24th into your diary.

Twelve talks (so far) have been planned at present, some of which will see Sabrina Dent talking about making money in Second Life, Haydn Shaughnessy looking at ‘Culture, Content and the Next Web’, and organiser James Corbett talking about how he built the Clarion Hotel through Google SketchUp.

For those of you planning on staying over in Limerick and enjoying some of the post-event activities, there’s also an accommodation list available on the site.

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Close friends of mine and advocates for internet film, the Mycrofilms crew are set to debut the second of six planned webispodes of Vultures this Sunday.

For those who attended CreativeCamp in Kilkenny earlier this year, we held a lunchtime screening of the first episode, the Kris Kringle Konundrum. The second episode was filmed over late March / early April and after a small technical hitch is now ready for public viewing. Having spent a day on set of both productions so far, I’ll be attending the cast and crew screening in Cleere’s Theatre in Kilkenny this Saturday night.

Vultures, written & directed by John Morton & Paddy Dunne (who are also part of The Devious Theatre Company fold, the theatre company I established with John over two years ago), is the story of three private detectives who run a small scale private investigation agency in small town Ireland. The moderately successful business is called Vulture Private Investigations and specialises in dealing with divorce cases, fraud, missing persons, animals and plants and occasionally, just occasionally, they’ll be served up something that approximates a mystery.

The trio of Mycrofilms, The Devious Theatre Company and KilkennyMusic.com were all successful in securing funding from Kilkenny County Council’s Arts Office earlier this month. With funding set to be released around the start of June, there’s going to be a flurry of film, theatre and music activity in Kilkenny over the summer months.

The Scarlet Lady Vanishes will be available from VulturesPi.com, iTunes, Blip.tv and a number of other online sources from Sunday morning, May 18th.

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The test too has been outsourced to SGS who will be in Kilkenny on the day.

Has anyone had any experience with testing instructors from SGS or notice anything different in tests outsourced to independent testers or instructors?

I must say though, I’m quite looking forward to it. Between work, music, theatre and the increasing frequency of drives to and from Sligo, I’m spending more and more time on the road. While I’ve enjoyed almost two years on a provisional license, turning 25 at the end of this month and having my insurance up for renewal in August places the test at the right time, financially anyway.

All I need to do now is pass the thing…

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If you’ve never heard of the Playlist Mix Podcast (possible if you’re a new reader!), it is a weekly podcast I release running 30 minutes or less and featuring six independent or podsafe acts from around the world.

I gather music from the Podsafe Music Network, Garageband, CD submissions from acts I work with in Ireland and through KilkennyMusic.com and ultimately, email submissions from listeners and bands alike. The mix is rather eclectic. My own listening habits are by no means genre specific. If you had stopped me in traffic this morning you’d catch me with some downtempo jazz on; into the office and I’m in rock mode; out and about and I’m fuelled by indie or reggae tunes.

To that extent, each week’s mix is often a reflection of what I’ve been listening to as well as a means to showcase new tracks and artists arriving in my inbox. I’m not much of a fan of day-time radio so when I’m on the road I like to have a short mix of tunes with me - a 30-minute weekly dose of the Playlist Mix tends to do the trick for me

The latest podcast was released yesterday with music from Plunkett, The Riot Before, Ghostface Killah and more… have a listen below, click here to subscribe via iTunes or check PlaylistMix.com for previous shows.

Playlist Mix #32 (Download @ 27mb, 128kbps)

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On Friday though, I had several phone calls with each of them dropped. Breaks in signal or reception, dropped audio, or calls failing to connect.

While I can understand this happening in the office (working a large building with questionable wifi and mobile signals in spots), I couldn’t understand it happening at home or out around the garden.

It dawned on me before leaving to Canada in 2006 that I’d had a similar problem with the Sony Ericsson K800i - 3G connectivity being the cause of the problems.

In the N95’s case, it was the factory default setting of UMTS as opposed to GSM - likely with a combination of not having changed my sim card to the one issued with the N95 from O2 (on advice from O2 customer care, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it kind of thing).

To remedy this

• Hit the menu key on the N95
• Go to Tools > Settings > Phone > Network
• Switch ‘Network Mode’ from UMTS to GSM

If you’re getting a UMTS / 3G sim you likely won’t have this issue / can switch it back. But if you’re like me and you’re happy to continue using the sim card you were issued YEARS ago, then this might remedy your call problems.

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I had offered in the past to carry the ball but my time constraints are just as bad.

The site detailed fatal traffic collision reports for 2006 and into 2007, plotting each accident on a map of the country.

This would be a great project for someone interesting in road deaths in Ireland, mapping, or someone with a desire to improve the facilities already in place. If you’re interested in the project, see the Jaiku note here or visit John’s blog to contact him.

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While new XP orders will phase out from mid-June this year, new customers will be able to pick up Vista machines, pre-downgraded to XP on request, a practice I’ve seen many people make use of since Vista was unleashed on the public.

Barring the look and feel of the Vista interface, I’ve still not spoken with someone thoroughly happy with XP’s successor as a choice of operating system.

However, come June this will apply only to those ordering machines in the Windows Vista Business or Ultimate Edition specs as standard home models can’t be downgraded. The upside is, if you do decide to upgrade to Vista at any point after your purchase, the upgrade is already catered and paid for.

I’ll be weening myself off XP before the end of the year as it is. I’ve no intention at all of upgrading to Vista and with the purchase of the N95 now out of the way, the next target on the list is a new iMac for the house. The Mac Pro is just a little too far out of budget for the moment…

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I use PodPress for delivery of both the Playlist Mix podcast and Sound System Podcast with KilkennyMusic.com and much to my surprise last night I had read online that development on the plugin had ceased and the site had been whipped down.

This, however, appeared due to a “domain registration snafu” as Jeff at Weblogs Tools Collection points out.

The plugin is, in fact, alive and well and the next version is almost set for release. The current version, 8.8, has been around for a while now but the plugin is working fine in Wordpress 2.5 so there was no major panic on when the next version would be out. But when the thought of it disappearing altogether arises, it puts many a podcaster into a spin.

But all is well in the world and users of both Joomla and Drupal will be happy to hear that there are ports in the pipeline for both CMS options.

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It has been a week of revelations - one that has taught me interesting things about close friends, current and future clients as well as highlighting the notion that everything has the chance to surprise you when you least expect it.

I also spotted once again that the iSight does, in fact, rock when it comes to Online Meeting Rooms

It has also been a rather productive week. Despite knocking out 50 hours in the office, I also managed to squeeze some day time hours out of my week to plan a return trip to Canada towards the end of the summer, record some podcasts, assist two people in the setup of new podcasts, get involved in the running of two shows at the Rhythm & Roots Festival next weekend, sign a few cheques and contracts in relation to the performance of Trainspotting in June, meet and talk to all the cast and crew, finalise a PR strategy for an upcoming nationwide music tour in July (one Irish, one Australian act) and while I wait on the kettle to boil, I’m currently prepping for a 12 hour video shoot today in Kilkenny.

The video shoot should be fun.

But this trip to Canada - or anywhere else for that matter, can’t come soon enough!

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