Garter says that microblogging is in the period of technology trigger which is defined as “The first phase of a hype cycle is the “technology trigger” or breakthrough, product launch or other event that generates significant press and interest.”  I agree with this to a certain extent but over the past few months with the Death of Michael Jackson and Iranian Twitter drama, it seems to have skipped straight to the slope of enlightenment (Although the press may have stopped covering the technology, some businesses continue through the “slope of enlightenment” and experiment to understand the benefits and practical application of the technology.)  CNN, Sky News and lots of user media sources now use Twitter to broadcast news, receive news and questions/thoughts from guests and even my aunt is on Twitter.  A little twitter bird once told me that one major newspaper, projects a giant tweetdeck onto a wall and decides on tomorrow’s news by the most trending topics.

In the hypergrowth that defines social media, it doesn’t take long for something to become obselete and new forms to come in.  I fell out of blogging due to the time it takes to aggregate thoughts and my lack of niche i.e. lack of ability to add value.  In my blogging days, I used to enjoy receiving numerous comments and getting tons of hits but wordpress did alot of the SEO for me.  I was also a power user on Digg so received a plethora of hits that way.  I decided to get back into blogging because it’s good for the research work I’ll be doing into social media and from a disgusting PR perspective i.e. it’s pointless being a social media guy without a social media presence.

I’ve been fairly slow to blog since I set up this site but today Eirepreneur picked up on a hastily written blog post I wrote.  He kindly commented and RT’ed and I received loads of hits and three comments within an hour so I was well happy and am a bit buzzed about it all. Imagine if I posted more and put in more effort :).

The point of this post is Blogging still has value but only if you have something interesting to say and something to add. The majority of Bloggers say “O look at me, I’m mad, I have an iPhone, I know what Twitter is, I’m web savvy,” i.e. I’m an individual just like everyone else *Yawn*  I’ve subscribed via RSS to a lot of blogs in my time but these are the only ones which have remained that I read.  We’re talking of a list of 300 down to about 10.  These blogs all have a niche and add some sort of value to readers.  Hence, they are win.  These include:

Nialler9 – Amazing music blog.  Description here

Twenty Major - Lulz Factory – Satirical Look at Irish society?

Web 2.0 Ireland – Does exactly what it says on the tin and does it very well.

This post is inspired by a homeless guy who sat next to me on the public bus the whole journey from Cork to Dublin today.  Ugh.  The list are in order of my preference of how I would travel from Dub to Cork and vice versa.

1. Train – most expensive option, yield management pricing, duration is three hours.  It’s clean, there’s usually a trolley dolly serving crisps and tea and there are bathrooms which speak.  The only time I’ve ever had hassle on the train was when there was a crowd returning from a match and it all got a bit rowdy.  It’s generally no hassle and no drama.

2. Ryanair – can be cheaper than the train, cost of getting to and from each airport will probably make it the same as train though, yield management pricing and the duration is thirty minutes.  Lots of business classy type people going on day tips, usual trolley dolly type service.  (For those that don’t know Ryanair is the equivalent of SouthWest airlines over here in terms of business model and are similar in every way apart from customer service.  Ryanair have little to no customer service.)  In general, the more ahead of time you book the flight the cheaper it will be.

3. Drive – New motorway means no boithrins (small roads) and it takes about three to four hours depending on the traffic.

4. Aircoach – Spacious buses, 22euro for an adult, stops a few times on the way down but I’d consider it direct (in comparison to the next guy,) and apparently some buses have WiFi.  If you can’t afford train, ryanair or drive, this is the option. Also, if you’re taller than 5′8″, this is the one for you.

5. Bus Eireann Route 8 - I have experienced so much drama on this bus.  It comes in about 2 or 3 euro cheaper than the Aircoach, (so 20ish) but the extra money is worth paying on the aircoach.  As it’s the public service, you get all types of people coming on.  One day, a Chinese dude kept shouting at his laptop and the driver nearly removed him, we’ve left a few people behind at break time and today they let on a stinking homeless guy and the driver watched as he harassed the whole bus.  The Irish could handle him but the poor Spanish and Italian student’s didn’t know what to make of it.  There’s no room on the bus and it stops loads of times on the way up and down and if you’re making good time, ahead of schedule you’ll have to wait at each town to cater for all passengers.

Just writing this to inform anyone who want to travels this journey. If you want more information contact me via e-mail or on Twitter.

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This café situated on Ormond Quay (you have to go down a circular stairs to enter it) is really nice.  The ambience serves as a total get away from hectic Dublin Life and it’s right bang in the centre.  It’s decorated lovely inside and you have the option to sit on chairs or on the floor.  It’s the perfect escape except for two small things.

I must say the staff were really nice to me and it was a very hospitable place but their Shisha which I paid €13 for, wasn’t proper Shisha.  I would have settled for less obviously as I’m not in the Middle East but this Shisha was rotten.  I’ve been to Shisha cafés where they give you tongs to move about the coals and let you maintain the shisha yourself but after a few puffs, it left that tickly, coughy sensation in my mouth which means the bong needed maintenance.  As the café is indoors also, you can’t take the foil off the top of the bong and blow out the ash from the tobacco.  It’s by removing the coal ashes from the tobacco, you maintain the taste.

I also had some mint tea with my Shisha which was nice but it cost €7 for a small pot.  In fairness though, it was really nice tea.

Possibly in a few years time, when I am rich or working I might be able to afford to frequent here more often or treat myself to it every month or so.  The reason it’s so pricey as well is probably because it is a new venture and rent costs for that part of town must be astronomical.

I wish the café lots of success and I’ll return there when I’m working and my student year is over.

….well there’s a good few hours left yet but in Oz and New Zealand they are well on their way to Thursday.

If you didn’t hear about the story look here: http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2008/sep/08/particlephysics.physics

Rössler apparently thinks it “quite plausible” that the “mini black holes” the Cern atom-smasher creates “will survive and grow exponentially and eat the planet from the inside”. So convinced is he that he has lodged an EU court lawsuit alleging that the project violates the right to life guaranteed under the European Convention of Human Rights.

Go away and jump off a bridge will ya, you turd faced spunkhead?  I can’t believe scientists who go through years of training come out with this shit.  I never studied science at university and am clearly more intelligent than this guy so does that mean I’m more qualified than this cock?

The only thing apocalyptic I see happening within our lifetime is mass famine when oil runs out which is apparently coming…  There is so much debate about the topic, I don’t know who to believe.  It’s like asking, “Does God Exist?”  No matter how much you argue, an answer will never be known until a certain time comes.

Hopefully, the wars at the moment are going to keep the price of oil down for a while.

This might just be an Irish thing.

There are numerous occasions everyday when people are in our way or vice versa and we want them to move.  I always say “Sorry” on it’s own or followed by “Can I get past?”   It always begins with “Sorry.”  I’m apologising for nothing.

The correct thing to say in this situation would be “Excuse Me,” which is proper manners.  I have tried this recently but not with very much success.

“Sorry” has replaced “Excuse Me.”  If you do say “Excuse Me” while trying to get past someone, they interpret you as being rude.  They think you’re saying “Ex-ca-huuseee me” which usually means something bitchy is about to be said or a fight is starting.

I wonder how teachers of English go about explaining that one.

I can’t find a definition of “Excuse Me” which supports my claim.  I guess I lose.

[digg=http://digg.com/people/Has_Sorry_replaced_Excuse_Me_in_the_English_Language]

What I have learned in the past week about using Dublin Buses and I can’t find this information on their website.

1. Drivers don’t deal with cash

2. You chuck your fare into the container in front of the driver.

3.  You tell him how much money you’re putting in and if you require change, he will print a ticket for change which is redeemable on O’ Connell Street.

4. These containers don’t take notes.

I have provided some tips here to prevent people from getting charged for excess baggage on flights.  Your airline’s website will always tell you how much you are permitted.  I have acquired this knowledge over the past 2 years.

1. Buy a Luggage Scale: This will be a wise, once off investment. I have seen both digital and scale models.  Click here for a google product search.  If you shop around, one shouldn’t cost you much.  It will save you alot of money in the long run.

2. Check-In Online and Print your Boarding Pass At Home: This will prevent you from ever presenting your luggage at a desk to be weighed.  I have used this method successfully on a number of occasions.  I just pack a sports gear bag with as much as I can inside.  Be careful here because your bag will need to be able to fit through airport security machines and into the overhead lockers on the plane.  This only works if you’re not putting in luggage in the hold and used most commonly on short-term flights.

3. Be First At The Check In Desk: As the plane fills up with luggage and gets heavier, the more it costs the airline in fuel.  I have heard of cases where airlines have ignored charges for excess baggage for the folk who check in first and leave the charges for people who come later.

4. Wear a few layers of clothes and take them off when you get on the plane:  Believe it or not, I have heard of people using this method to bypass excess charges.  It might cause a bit of a problem going through security so be careful.  Your flight might take off when you are undressing for a strip search ;).

5. Pack Carefully: Do you really need a ski jacket for The Bahamas?  Scrutinize everything you are including in your luggage.  A little bit of preparation could save you alot of cash.

6. Take all your heavy luggage in your hand luggage: This is an obvious one.  I usually put my shoes, gifts etc. in my hand luggage because they are generally the heaviest items I have.

[digg=http://digg.com/travel_places/6_Tips_To_Ensure_You_re_Not_Charged_for_Excess_Baggage]

I would consider myself to be quite callous with a caustic sense of humour but last night someone made a joke about suicide which really angered me.  I draw the line somewhere.  You always need to draw a line somewhere.  Luckily, I have never been directly affected by someone’s suicide and I hope I never will but the topic for me is and never will be a laughing matter.

I recently found out about someone’s death (who I knew to see but never personally) and had to enquire as to the nature of the death although I had guessed it was suicide due to the cloaked way I was informed about it.  The person whom I asked never knew the person and only knew him through someone else.  It was him who made the really callous remark toward the young man who had died.  The comment was homophobic, but internally homophobic as both parties were gay.  I can only assume he meant it to be funny.  How can anyone joke about suicide especially when it’s just happened?  If he didn’t like the man who had died he could have made that remark and I would have understood somehow in the back of my mind or been able to justify it but he NEVER knew him.  He made a reference to what the guy was like but only through what he had heard, not what he had witnessed.

I’m very wary about giving people second chances (because rarely people ever change) and I was willing to give this guy a second chance. I had the inconvenience of his company for a weekend and he didn’t annoy me at all (on a previous weekend he had.)  Now, I have no time for the guy and I hope he rots in hell for the comment he made.  He’s the kind of person whose life I gauge against mine as in I say to myself, “I’m so glad I’m not as deluded as that fool there, and I’m so glad I’m more mature, confident, intelligent, self aware than that person will ever be and he’s 6 years older than me.”  I know it’s wrong to derive self esteem from things like that but with this guy, it’s imperative that I do so.   It’s also important I never turn out like that.

Nobody knows whether Heath Ledger’s death was accidental or suicide but it has brought depression / suicide into the public arena.  Hopefully with the success of ‘The Dark Knight’ young people will waken up to the pain and horror of suicide.  I haven’t heard any jokes about Ledger’s death because it would be beyond the realm of taste and I would seriously question anyone who would do so.

All taxi drivers are knobs in my opinion.  They are money grabbing bastards who will try every trick in the book to extort as much money as possible from you.  While they suck all the change from your wallet, most of them will also offer lousy, boring conversation to pass the time.  This pain should require a reduction in the fare.  – €2 if the Taxi Driver speaks to you on other matters apart from your destination.

Although taxis are now regulated and everything is run on meters, there are still ways they can trick you out of your money.  Today, I had a guy who drove really, really slowly (although the meter is charged to do with distance, it’s charged by speed if it drops under 20km/h I believe) and drove us to the wrong destination.  It seemed to me that he wanted to push his political agenda on top of us, as passengers and stay with us for as long as possible.  The end charge for the taxi was €23.50.  For the same journey to the airport last week I paid €15.  It’s totally ridiculous.

To make matters worse the taxi driver pushed his Progressive Democrat agenda on us.  He gave me a quick summary of what’s wrong with Ireland and told me all the ways the PDs were going to help the country.  He also ranted on about the legalization of prostitution in Ireland which is on the PD agenda apparently.  I couldn’t really tell if his interest in this topic was to do with controlling the Irish black economy or his own personal interests.  He drove slowly so he could convey his message and so that the metre would increase.

Three of us lads were in the car and chatting amongst ourselves about our weekend away in England and we were discussing hostels and he interrupted us by saying, “Hostels, ye stayed in one of dem?  They’re great these days, aren’t they?”  Then the conversation went from hostels > one he had slept in in Galway > a PD politican in Galway within the space of a few minutes.

I informed the driver that I had a degree in Economics and a postgraduate diploma so I know a few things about the Irish Economy, although I majored in Microeconomics but he was right on all the economics issues and my input wasn’t valid.  It was always his agenda and “I’m right now there, aren’t I?”

I fucking hate them.  I really do.  They are way too overpriced and the service is appalling.  I wish Cork had a decent public transport system which could get me from the airport to my house without having to donate my kidneys to fund it.  Die, taxi drivers, die.