A-M-A-Z-I-N-G

There’s something wonderfully simple but yet so totally appropriate about the idea developed by author James Hance in his first book. Here, he re-imagines Han Solo as Christopher Robin, Chewbacca as Pooh Bear, R2D2 as Piglet, and AT-AT as Eeyore. This will be a definite gift on the list for literally any minor (and some bigger children). TBH, I think I might end up buying in bulk and giving one to everyone in the audience. It’s only $5 and this kind of inspiration deserves our support.

From Hance’s website,

I’m ridiculously proud to announce the release of my first actual, proper, real book! It’s a tribute to the combined genius of George Lucas, A.A.Milne and E.H.Sheppard.

‘Wookiee The Chew’, in the style of the original Pooh books tells the adorkable tale of the little biped that belonged to Chrisolo Robin (and Chrisolo Robin belonged to him). 24 pages of affectionately crafted adventure, brand new illustrations and sneaky Star Wars references.

Emigration has been a feature of Irish life since the “great potato famine”. Indeed, since the great calamity there have been few years where immigration replaced emigration. From my own perpective, I was brought as a young child away from Ireland. The story goes that it was a tester to see whether we might move further. My Dad had always been keen to move to Australia. That didn’t happen. Instead of the sun and beaches of Oz, I grew up with a small Irish community around me on the Isle of Man. Noted internationally as 70,000 alcoholics clinging to a rock, I was surrounded by a few ex pats who moved away and were unlikely to return. With that in mind, I grew up not too far from ‘home’ but experiencing a somewhat odd version of the familiar Irish experience abroad.

A friend commented recently on Facebook that it was “amazing how most people want to get off this rock but you want to get back!” in relation to my excitement about a trip to Ireland. He meant it in the best of spirits, but it did prompt me to think about my relationship with the land of my birth and how it compares. The necessity to create a blog post to clarify my own thoughts on the matter were further compounded by recent reading books from Shappi Khorsandi and Dara O’Briain. SO, for me, home is where now?

Perhaps the real tragedy of Irish history is the Irish can’t forget, but the English can’t seem to remember.

In most countries, only the victories and moments of glory are recorded in the history books. As I experienced first hand, there is little to nothing on the history syllabus in England that deals with the Irish famine, 1798, or the Irish war of independence, or for that matter the Scottish clearances. When there is so much ‘good’ history to celebrate, why bother looking at such pesky trivialities as ethnic cleansing or military defeat? True, in a modern and international world it is probably about time to ‘move on’, but at least with events involving the death and oppression of millions – the Germans and the Jews, India’s revolution,  the rise of a political change across Africa and most of America’s history when viewed from multiple perspectives it is rare that recanting the past is seen as a cultural failure. For many reasons, not least the morphing of old Irlsh patriotic republication-ism to a newer 1980s armed terrorism – nationalism for many years was resigned to the extremes. The Irish at home have, in the Celtic Tiger years, developed an unusual negativity about their own nation. A negativity, it must be noted, that is rarely experienced by those who did not experience those decades first hand. Instead, it is seen as a very significant bond.

800 years later

Winston Churchill famously commented “We have always found the Irish a bit odd. They refuse to be English.”. Personally, I never really settled in the British Isles. I felt oppressed and shut down. I didn’t always fit in. On reflextion, is was probably part Anti Irish prejudice and equal part Anti-annoying-pain-the-ass-prejudice. I wasn’t always an easy kid to get along with. Moving between schools, I was never domesticated. My argumentative and opinionated nature (which I would claim to be an inherited characteristic) was fueled if not facilitated by those around me. I bought all the jerseys, followed the teams and screamed at the TV at all the right moments. Taytos, Club Orange, Barrys Tea, Brunches and Loop Da Loops – I lived on food parcels. Delighted to get them – every bite was savoured. I’ve long drawn affinity with the Exiles of London Irish and Celtic FC. Then I found Munster to adequately represent my homelessness. An Irish childhood supplemented by holidays and an extended (and overly active) University residence are my experiences of Ireland. My accent has never really been particularly geographically clear. THanks to prounced “TH”s I was never a ‘local’ in Waterford, while a dual accent split between a comfortable homelife Irish brogue and a practiced neutral tone for school was maintainable if not entirely awkward and forced.

Where do I call home, and what do they call me there?

In University, they classed me as an ‘International Student’ for economic reasons rather than heritage based ones (my fees were not covered by the Irish state due to my time outside of Europe). At times I felt like one of the many (so called) plastic paddies from children of the Irish diaspora wearing the sashes of the New York rose. In fact, I even spoke at a conference about being an international student. Recounting my own experience of Irish society – from the unusual ‘in between’ position I occupied i.e. not all that international and not all that Irish. At this stage, I’ve no spent more time in Cork than I have in Waterford. I’ve spent longer in the Isle of Man than both. My formative education was on the ‘rock’ while my higher education in Irish Politics and History was from ‘source’. The language and seminal shared marks on the national psychie -such as “the leaving”, social slang, All-Ireland hysteria and political/popular incidents of note – werent my shared experience. Regardless of what I book learn, they never will be. On the whole, people accept me for what I appear to be – as Irish as bad weather. However, when in Ireland, I did revert at times to a one man walking advertisement for the Isle of Man. Recounting its unusual political arrangements and social oddities in the same way I had about Ireland to the Manx. From my experience, Irish people appreciate a conversational oddity – which this certainly was. In retrospect, I think the residents of the Isle of Man were probably similar – but its very easy to be offensive when overly reminiscing to the detriment of your hosts.

The Future

As I get older, my views on the place I had been know to refer to as ‘Anthrax Island’ have matured and changed. Shaped by things like my brother, my education and my first jobs. All of which have been very informative on my view of the island. With Sinéad here the last week, I think I appreciate the Isle of Man more than ever before. Kind and welcoming and fiercely protective of their Island – the traditional locals, the Manx, are as close to the Irish as any distant population. I appreciate this national pride, the shared culture and similar heritage. I’m also appreciative of the opportunities it has afforded me. The Isle of Man is also truly beautiful place.

As for Ireland, I’m always happy to return. Its never a challenge or a struggle. I will always shout on the teams and I will always return ‘home’. I aim to speak in Irish Gaelic to my children whenever they may come and where ever we may be.  But as close friends move away in search of their own experience ‘abroad’ and I move on in search of work – I suspect my shallow planted roots will become even more disturbed. Regardless of these connections, I’m not sure I will ever return there permanently. Primarily I’d miss the buzz of coming ‘home’, but In truth, I’m not sure I could settle anywhere now. Mostly of my own creation, I’m a child of the world rather than any real place.

Of Ireland more generally, in a time when its national identity is seen as stumbling, I think we’re witnessing a profound sense of cultural uncertainty. Internationalization may well be damaging Irelands sense of common values and heritage. With good fortune, this is just a phase that will settle as international uncertainty does. Hopefully, as its perception of its place in the world reaffirms, Ireland will be more outwardly proud, supportive and protective of those Irish away from home that are willing and working for its recovery.

Full video of “In the name of the Grandfather” – Simpons in Ireland

Websites can be a significant investment and can draw huge attention to your organisation. Despite this, usability is a frequently neglected aspect of both small and large Web developments. Ultimately, if visitors can’t use your site, they will leave and never become customers/clients. This article will focus on providing helpful common sense tips for making a web page usable – in short though the key to web usability is consistency.

The Internet is becoming a vital tool for almost all facets of modern life. This includes elements as diverse as education, commerce and recreation. There is an ever-increasing move to online provision of services. However, service providers should also be concerned with enabling access to the broadest possible user base in order to facilitate the best possible service and return on investment.

In the past week I’ve been suprised how little attention is paid by some SMEs to the online real estate that their web presence provides. The Web offers infinite freedom and many alternatives; users will not suffer a poorly designed site. Unlike bricks and mortar service/shopping, where face to face interaction is almost immediate, the web necessitates that a trust be established. Few enterprises would leave their shop window boarded up but an unfinished website marred with “Under Construction” banners or holding text reflects equally as poorly.

Its important to collect usability feedback and improve your site – ideally throughtout the design phase. The pressure to get your site up and running can make it seem impossible to add any steps to the development cycle. However, research can be done without a lab or the resources to hire consultants. Many site operators still use launch as their first round of user testing – this should be seen as a significant risk. Instead, invite five people to your office and watch them as they surf. Pay close attention to areas where users were frustrated, took a long time, or couldn’t complete tasks. The earlier you collect and respond to user feedback, the better your site will be.

Set up site analytics to determine what content draws people in, what keeps them viewing and what they return to see. On an ongoing basis use the information generated and your own goals to alter how the site grows going forward.

From the outset it is important to consider what makes a website a great experience from an end user’s perspective. For instance, for page layout, studies have shown that users expect the search bar to be located in the top right corner and a link to the home page in the top left. The search bar should default to a simple search and be accessible on every page.

Text should be easy to scan through the use of headings, bulleted lists and short paragraphs. Keep the text short and concise by writing half as much for the web as you would want to print. Other useful tips include using bold and italics for emphasis instead of underlining, and using a maximum of four colours and three type faces across a site.

In closing, what makes a great experience is the ability to easily find, scan and understand content and navigate sites efficiently. Following web conventions and best practices will help to improve the site experience because users will know what to expect when they are on your site.

Web Design and Usability Tips

• Simplicity is Rule #1 for usability. For instance, use a consistent large font, maintain simple static menus/navigation and avoid popups, flash or attatching PDFs. Dont let design complexity distract user’s attention.
• Information architectures should not mirror the organization chart. Also, rather than “Click here” language you should use descriptive text that describes where the user will end up by clicking on the link.
• Discover the reasons why users visit your website and build your site as a fast and obvious response to these reasons or queries. For instance, consider how to integrate popular posts/pages within in your navigational system or link to your previous articles in newer postings.
• Follow conventions for web design (eg “blue for hypertext links“) This will allow site visitors to mainly focus on your content rather than thinking about how to use your site.
• Website taglines must explain, within the crucial first 10 seconds, what the company does and what makes it unique among competitors.
• Response or load time for a website is fairly important. If your site is slow, visitors are likely to go away – it will also be even more painful to use on the plethora of mobile devices now available.
• Good copywriting style should be short, easy to read, to the point and avoid internal niche jargon and ‘marketese‘. Split up your content into clear headings/subheadings and use bullet points to aide page speed reading. Also highlight keywords or important phrases by making them bold.

Interesting Reading

Excellent resources if you are interested in reading more about web usability:

• Nielsen, J & Loranger, H (2006) “ Prioritizing Web Usability”
• Krug, Steve (2006) “Don’t Make Me Think”
• A range of Papers and Essay on Copywriting and Usability by Nielson.

Friday 30th of July saw the The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Lausanne reject an appeal by the Irish FA or Football association Northern Ireland in complaint against International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) and the Football Association of Ireland (FAI) allowing Belfast-born Daniel Kearns to play for the Republic.

The ruling could have gone either way. Irish FA president Raymond Kennedy understandably reacted with dismay to the court’s decision. Kennedy said: ‘I am disappointed by today’s decision”. This prompted me to think about the rationale for cross border sports cooperation.

Under the Good Friday Agreement, Irish passports can be held by Irish citizens born on either side of the border. However the IFA have been trying to prevent a talent drain of players and have been arguing that players born in Northern Ireland without family links to the south should not be allowed to play for the Republic.

FIFA’s players’ status committee had ruled that Kearns fulfilled the requirements in that he had never represented Northern Ireland in an official competition at senior international level. Instead, Kearns, represented Northern Ireland at under-17 level but switched to play for the Republic this year and played in two European Under-19 Championship matches.

A statement from CAS said: ‘The CAS panel dismissed the appeal and confirmed the decision issued by the single judge of the FIFA players’ status committee, which recognised that Daniel Kearns was eligible to play for the national team of the FAI.”

Welcoming the ruling, FAI chief executive John Delaney said: ‘Today’s landmark decision by the Court of Arbitration for Sport confirms the FIFA and FAI position on player eligibility. The ruling upholds the right of individual choice on this matter for players born north of the border.

Sadly I fear my thoughts on the matter are further from happening rather than closer. I have long been interested in the merits and demerits of the all-ireland potential of both league football and the international teams.

United

An all Ireland team would offer a tremendous symbol of fellowship. Following in the very successful shaddow of the all Ireland Rugby Union and indeed Gaelic games where Ireland has only one team made up from players from all provinces. Ulster players play alongside those from the Republic, regardless of religion or whether they’re from the North or South.

Worldwide in conflict zones, sport has demonstrated itself to be a welcome tool of peace. Soccer, like rugby in South Africa, could use its tremendously popularity on both sides of the cultural, religious and social devides as a common element of unity. Seeing their heroes play alongside those from “over the border” has the potential to shape the attitudes of the young and help shake off inherited prejudices. This move could do more to provide steel to the peace process than any negotiation or diplomacy – particularly in the working class areas that soccer is inherantly most popular.

The arguement that political or religious factions might be a barrier to unity and a team gel is made nonesensical when it is considered how many players are already team mates. The vast majority of players already ‘get on’ while representing English and Scottish club sides. The idea that players would rather squabble than perform at their peak is absurd – or rather, is no more absurd in an all-Ireland context than it is anywhere else. In reality, professional footballers like any international sports star would almost certainly buckle down and compete for their place.  Only fringe and bit part player benefiting from division that should be scared of competition would be likely to offer dissent. There will be a huge amount of attention paid to who gets picked: the idea that prejudice rather than ability will determine things is absurd, particularly in the professional coaching and playing era. Where everyone stands to benefit from a win – who would sabotage their own efforts.

Ultimately, even with political motives aside – combining the talents of North and South would have the potential to improve on the field relations. Neither nation has offered much in the way of potential at a major tournament. Historically, Northern Ireland have had one or two stand-out players surrounded by weaker bit part players. Conversely the team from the Republic’s team is often lacking quality in depth  or the spark of magic offered by a key player. Depite demonstrating a solid offering they fail to provide at key moments where inspiration is required. Returning to the comparison with Rugby, putting the best of both teams together would greatly enhance Ireland’s chances of reaching the final stages of international competitions and must offer the potential to greatly increase any potential to win. Afterall, a united Ireland offering would not be far behind the 10m citizens which provided Greece with enough quality to win not too long ago at the European Championships. Ireland and its provinces have already shown themselves to be world beaters  - only in another code. The talent pool from the island of Ireland is far too small to be split up as it is currently.

Perhaps the greatest barrier to an All-ireland team is the level of rivalry between the opposing associations. Tournaments like the Setanta Cup have had their issues – but then, the Associations themselves have been frightfully troublesome in terms of politcal stability. Notably, although there is neighbourly rivalry now – there is a something patently unifying about being successful. The benefits of the proposed cooperation are long term and depend on management and organisers having the vision to overcome short term prejudices (and possibly a liberal dollop of self interest). Ultimately, a single well run Association with a strong product to support would be far easier to get behind even with organisational and tribal differences.

Divided

Clearly, as can be seen by 200 years of unrest and 20 years of political/ military operations, many people across Ireland don’t feel commonality or fellowship. There is an internationally recognised border around the province of Ulster and as borders determine the make up of soccer teams everywhere – why would Ireland be treated different? No doubt, combining the English and Scottish teams would probably lead to a better squad but thats not something that would even be mooted. Why? Because they’re quite distinctly different countries.  Instead, Unionists will view this as nationalism by the populist back door.

Even without political re-organsiation, sport in the island of Ireland has been politicized and is politicizing. One doesn’t have to look too far in either state to see the iconic Celtic or Rangers jersey – despite neither team even playing on the island. Instead, both sides of the border have a history of demonstrating an ugly nationalism through tribal sports events.

In considering the sporting benefits, it is worth noting that both teams have outperformed what would have otherwise been expected of them. Indeed, it was only a matter of months ago that Ireland took on the French world beaters – only to make headlines with their display of courage and misfortune.  Each nation has qualified for the World Cup a highly respectable three times. A potential outcome of unification may infact be a lesser showing at international fares. What if the teams don’t manage to overcome social barriers? – we could then be turning two relatively successful outfits into one dissappointment.

There would also be near guarantee of further dissappoint and unrest in terms of exclusions. For every George Best or Roy Keane, there is realistically a full squad at each age group of players who won’t be offered the chance to play and develop at an international level. Narrowing the opportunities for players in their country will not only breed resentment but also has the potential to limit players professional careers. The fear from this perspective is particularly evident from the North. Any unified team would likely follow the same blue print as the Rugby Union – here we’d see a squad packed out with Republican players interspersed with a minimum of Ulstermen.

It is already claimed in some quarters that the Ireland Rugby Union is influenced by the greater size and strength of the established republican provinces. There is seen to be an automatic favouring of players from the Republic and marginalizing of Ulstermen. It is a notable fact that representation of Ulster players is less significant than the other provinces. That squad, supposedly the model of success, is also not without its tensions. It could also be argued that disputes surrounding selection, which may be seen to be based on political motivation, may actually make community relations more problematic than less. Sports fans are passionate. This could be a recipe for disaster.

As it stands there are two Associations, as the article that prompted this discussion demonstrates, there is a history of bad blood between the two. The likelihood of administrative cooperation is not a guaranteed – infact the campaign for an All-Ireland league instead offer yet more support for the inherant problems of organising on an all-island basis.

To conclude, there are significant barriers to change – without the political will from the Associations it is likely a non issue. Few in politics outside of Football would also broach the subject.  Little is to be gained for individuals by standing above the parapit to push this campaign. Rugby and Gaelic have a longer history of all-ireland operation – in this regard they were far more likely to have had unification. In respect of expecting soccer to catch up, it is most likely that that ‘boat has sailed’.

It is also rather unlikely that an international body would attempt to involve itself in the dispute of a troubled island. Perhaps the most likely driver for change would be the move toward a team GB. This has already been mooted within the Olympics and non professional circles to replace individual Scotland, Ireland and Welsh offerings. Such a move would be a difficult factor to ‘sell’ within a disperate north. Instead, in an act of consolidation it may be possible to see an Ireland of two parts. An alternative uniting factor may be financial. Neither Assocation has been able to run a successful and financially viable league offering. It may simply become unavoidable to cut costs and rationalise services. One organisation being cheaper than two.

The final driver now appears less and less likely. A Celtic Tiger Ireland may have seen this as a route to more normalised relations – throwing money at sport may have had political benefits. However, with the Irish state purse far from bulging this appears to be a pipe dream.

This all said, in weighing up the arguements I’m a firm supporter of unity. As a republican and rugby fan, it is admittedly less of a challenge for me row behind, but its also based on sound reasoning. Perhaps the best possible situation for Irish football would be far far less teams taking part in a wider European competition – similar to the much talked about break away Champions league. Were there to be a based on a provincial setup I believe Ireland would be more competitive in Europe and in a domestic ‘Celtic’ League much like the Magners offering ‘domestic’ competition.  Such a league would have a far more representative cost base and the great potential draw of Celtic playing in Leinster regularly and Rangers competing in Belfast could possibly sweeten the deal for all sides. So, a good outcome all round but its still not going to happen.

We’ve all been on a bit of a health kick in work – I’ve decided on the Ramsey Gym for convenience (its not the best gym, but its certainly the closest to my house!) That said, others went with the Sefton and I can see why – its certainly a good offering. This is the comparison of prices (mainly thanks to Weena!)

Ramsey Gym – One Month stand alone 37.50 (30 regular by DD) (Link)

NSC Gym- 36.50 for 10 Peak Visits (Full info)

Carefour – 32.99 p/m (all times, no pool) (Link)

Nautilis – 35.00 p/m (peak, no pool) (Link)

Living well – 39.00 p/m (peak, pool)  (Link)

Mount Murray – 44.90 p/m (peak, pool) (Link)

Sefton – nil joining fee and £35 p/m (all times open from 5am – 11pm, pool/spa) – (Link)

(Obviously this info is the best of my knowledge and likely to change! – feel free to make contact if there are updates)

Munster fixtures for the year are out – so far they’ve yet to confirm the domestic tv schedule. Keen to see a few more league games this year. Fingers crossed! Full fixture list after the jump

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I was a little skeptical at first, but when @ImSineadB actually did it for me  - I couldn’t have been more impressed. You can tell I’m impressed cos this is my second food post today.  The cake is tastey and moist and ready in a time scale that holds my attention. Who needs traditional baking??

(the recipe asks for vanilla – but we tried defrosted raspberries and they worked a treat – a big improvement!)

Directions

1. Spray a medium microwave-safe bowl with non-stick spray and set aside. In a mixing bowl, combine the butter, sugar, egg, vanilla extract, and milk; blend together. Combine the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt; blend into the mixture until smooth. Pour into greased bowl.
2. Cover and cook in the microwave on high for 2 to 2 1/2 minutes, or until cake springs back when touched. Since all microwaves cook differently, adjust the cooking time to accommodate your machine. To serve, let the cake cool five minutes, then cover the bowl with a plate and turn both bowl and plate upside down so the cake falls onto the plate.

Almost everyone I know who tries Wagamama either love it or hate it. Those who love it generally took the time (or were lucky to find early on) the dish they loved. I say this because everyone I know also seem to have ‘a dish’  that they call their own. I’m one of those people. Though I liked and tried a few I always returned to Amai Udon. A noodles with prawn and leak in a delicious peanut and lime sauce.

Then there was a bit of a road bump. Wagamama stopped serving my favourite.

I wouldnt go without for long and learned to make it myself. See below:

Amai Udon (serves 2)

• 400g (14oz) Udon noodles
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 75 ml Amai sauce (3fl oz; I personally would add less)
• 1 large leek, finely sliced
• 6 cooked peeled prawns
• large handful of beansprouts
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 110g (4oz) firm tofu, cut into 10 cubes
• juice of 1 lime
• 2 tbsp chopped roasted peanuts

Cook the noodles in a large pan of boiling water for 2-3 minutes until just tender, drain, refresh under cool running water and reserve. Mix egg, Amai sauce with leeks, prawns, beansprouts and noodles in a bowl and stir together. Heat a wok over medium heat, then when slightly smoking , add the oil and fry the tofu till browning slightly. Tip the contents of the bowl into the wok and stir fry for 3-4 min till the egg is cooked and the leek has softened. Divide between two bowls, sprinkle with lime juice and chopped peanuts

Amai sauce (makes 125ml/4fl oz)

• 1 tbsp malt vinegar
• 3 tbsp sugar
• 1 tbsp light soy sauce
• 1 tbsp dark soy sauce
• pinch of salt
• 1.5 tbsp tomato ketchup
• 2 tsp tamarind paste

Gently heat vinegar, sugar and soy until the sugar has dissolved, then add the other ingredients and set aside.

There you go – should be as good as ‘authentic’ (ish)

Google has recently released an Android software development environment that is intended to make it easy for people to write applications for its Android smartphones. The free software, called Google App Inventor for Android, has taken 12 months to develop. User testing has been done mainly in US High Schools. The aim of the initiative, Google believe that with mobile phones increasingly become the dominant computers then users should be able to make their own applications.

Harold Abelson, a computer scientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, on sabbatical at Google to lead the project said “The goal is to enable people to become creators, not just consumers, in this mobile world,”

“We could only have done this because Android’s architecture is so open,” Mr. Abelson commented.

Much like Basic did for the PC, the Google Android Application Tool enables novice users to drag and drop blocks of code — shown as graphic images and representing different Smartphone capabilities— and put them together, similar to snapping together Lego blocks. The result is an application on that person’s Smartphone.

For example, a program by a nursing student enabled a phone to send an emergency message or make a call, if someone fell. It used the phone’s accelerometer to sense a fall. If the person did not get up in a short period or press an onscreen button, the program automatically sent an SMS or called the person designated to receive the alert.

“These aren’t the slickest applications in the world,” Mr. Abelson said. “But they are ones ordinary people can make, often in a matter of minutes.”

This is a very interesting development and the project is one of the clearest signs yet that Google is intent on opening up the mobile technology market to all users. Their approach is a polar opposite to it leading rival, Apple, who have been known to take a far more tightly managed approach to iPhone application development for the iPhone.