Dé hAoine (Fri), Aibreán (Apr) 30th
Language learning costs...
I was just checking out Easy Reader, an interactive Irish language learning program. It actually looks pretty good and something I wouldn't mind having ... but christ, look at the cost ... US$ 75.00 for a single licence.
That's one of the things that pisses me off, it's very hard to get good Irish software cheap [or free], everyone is out to make a buck ... they are entitled to of course but it's bound to be off putting to beginners. Foras na Gaeilge would want to invest a little and try to offer good software [or other such resources] at an affordable price for language enthusiasts. more..
maca @ 10:26.
Google preparing to do battle?
What's been called the worst kept secret in the dot com business Google is to offer shares to the public. Ok everyone knows that by now, but the question is why? For their "war chest" is the answer.
From meagre revenue of $200,000 in 1999 Google have sky rocketed in recent years now running 600 million searches per day and last year generated a recenue of over $960 million!!
Google hopes to raise $2.7 billion from it's shares and you have to guess that much of this is in preparation to do combat with Microsoft and Yahoo. Yahoo of course have bought out Inktomi and Overture (both last year) and are gunning for Google.
MS and Yahoo also have the advantage that only a portion of their revenue actually comes from their search engines where as 96% of Googles revenue comes from its Adwords program! Google will need every penny for the fight.
[considering 90% of our search engine referrals come from Google you know who we'll support] more..
maca @ 02:00.
For whom the bell tolls...
The US death continues to rise in Iraq. In what has been a bloody couple of week the number of service personnel killed since the start of operations now stands as 735! more..
maca @ 12:31.
Déardaoin (Thu), Aibreán (Apr) 29th
An end to drawn matches?
Has Blatter lost his mind? Is this man a fool or is he just a fool? His suggestion that draws in soccer should be done away with is absolutely ridiculous!! Naturally his suggestion is receiving widespread ridicule.
What a dumbass ... more..
maca @ 10:34.
Cold war in the cold North
The Finnish Navy has been on high alert recently after reports of submarine activity in the area. In fact the Navy fired depth charges as a warning just in case it was a foreign sub invading Finnish waters. Must be another Russian invasion ... more..
maca @ 09:51.
Éire Abú - Hyvä Suomi
Seemingly a brutally dull game in Poland last night and Ireland only managed a draw a scoreless draw. Hopefully they can perfrom better in the upcoming Unity cup.
Meanwhile the North managed to earn a draw against Serbia & Montenegro despite going behind to an early Paunovic goal. [other results]
Ice-Hockey World Cup, it was a bad game for the Finns last night. Trailing 2-3 against Slovakia with game end approaching they pulled their keeper and of course conceded an 'empty net goal'. Another goal then in the dying moments resulted in a depressing 2-5 scoreline. Slovakia take top spot in group B. [round-up] more..
maca @ 09:41.
Neanderthals bite the bullet
Interesting story about studies done on several hundred fossil front teeth from early humans, Neanderthals and modern humans. Apparantly neanderthals were on a "completely divergent evolutionary path" from uz humans. They were actually a different species altogether, according to the findings of this study.
Please, no jokes about homosapiens and the reasons for their extinction... more..
maca @ 08:48.
Dé Céadaoin (Wed), Aibreán (Apr) 28th
Thailand Clashes
I'll tell ya ... the world is falling apart. Gaddafi may be the 21st centurys latest peace maker but there's shit storms everywhere.
With ongoing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, over a hundred killed in clashes in Thailand, attacks in Syria, the usual bull going on in Israel, clashes in Peru, bombs in Madrid, more usual bull in Northern Ireland ... and all that's just the tip of the iceberg!!
Well ... what's new says you. more..
maca @ 07:08.
Happy Birthday Saddam
Happy birthday to Saddam Hussein, 67, and he doesn't look a day over 70. At least I think it's today anyway ... note to self, send Saddam a birthday card and a box of those strawberry Jelly babies he loves so much. more..
maca @ 06:56.
Dé Máirt (Tue), Aibreán (Apr) 27th
China won't be bullied
One of the very few things I respect about China is the fact that it stands up to the US and UK and says what it likes.
It's recent decision, ruling out full democracy for HK is wrong, plain and simple, but China has stood up to the UK and US by telling them to mind their own business.
As the Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing told reporters:
"We are Chinese, are you clear on that? Hong Kong is China's Hong Kong."
"Do you think Hong Kong was democratic under British rule? Did the British raise concerns about that? Did the Americans raise concerns? No. Why don't you take a look at this double standard?" more..
maca @ 12:00.
Body Count
As a follow-up to my last post Iraq Body Count's figures show a reported minimum of 8930 civilians killed as a result of the 'intervention' in Iraq.
Lunaville.org has a list of Coalition deaths. more..
maca @ 11:26.
Real tragedy
While battles rage in Iraq and all the talk is of how many of the "nasty bunch" are getting wiped out it pisses me off how civilians are constantly being forgotten. The article linked to here has a good photo of a small child (looks like 3-4 yrs old) clutching a doll. As a parent this type of image touches a nerve. more..
maca @ 11:16.
Dé Luain (Mon), Aibreán (Apr) 26th
Online Absense
Been offline for the past week ... just in case you were wondering.
Lots has happened, in Iraq, North Korea, Saudi Arabia and at home, no point giving you a summary.
Only thing from last week I will mention is a short from Saturday on the status in the EU of the Irish language. more..
maca @ 08:41.
Dé hAoine (Fri), Aibreán (Apr) 16th
Hard hat required
Godammit! It looks like i'm out of business for a short while. The Californian porn industry is on temporary shut-down as one of it's actors tested positive for HIV. These guys produce about 3-4 films per day so this a serious knock for the industry.
Mind you, it's not a subject to be joking about, check the latest WHO figures for the number of people with HIV/Aids (40 million!) more..
maca @ 12:10.
Xhtml Friends Network??
Anyone familiar with XFN™ or the XHTML Friends Network??
The XFN™ is "a simple way to represent human relationships using hyperlinks.
XFN enables web authors to indicate their relationship(s) to the people in their blogrolls simply by adding a 'rel' attribute to their link tags".
For example:
Bit too lovey-dovey is ya ask me ... more..
maca @ 11:43.
Déardaoin (Thu), Aibreán (Apr) 15th
"Litti" for FC Lahti
The biggest soccer news story here for quite a while [not that I pay close attention to be honest] is that Jari "Litti" Litmanen is to return to FC Lahti. [Tervetuloa takaisin Jari!]
Of course Lahti it Jari's hometown and FC Lahti is where Jari made his professional debut. He returns after Ajak released Jari from his contract, his time at Ajak was plaqued by injuries, and anyway he's getting auld [33].
It'll certainly boost the home attendances. [no excuse now, i'll have to watch a game or two] more..
maca @ 06:30.
Linspiring name change
Back to the Lindows saga, following the name change Lindows is now Linspire!
The website is also changing from www.lindows.com to www.linspire.com. more..
maca @ 05:28.
Good man Tim B.
Well the web has been on the go for quite a while now, and Tim Berners-Lee has long since been given recognition for inventing "the first server, browser, and protocols central to the operation of the web" while at CERN but now wee Tim is the proud recipient of the first Millennium Technology Prize. Fair f**ks Tim!
Created anseo in Finland the Millennium Technology Prize, known to friends as MilTek, aims to recognise international achievements in technology. It's awarded every second year so unfortunatly i'll have to wait 'til 2006 that I get my 1 million squid. more..
maca @ 12:42.
Bin Ladin wants truce?
A tape broadcast by Arab networks claims to be the bauld Osama asking for a truce with European countries that do not attack Muslims. No truce with the US though!
It's quite an interesting development and not something we'd really have expected.
Channel News Asia cover the story, as do Reuters, lots more via Google. more..
maca @ 08:59.
Dé Céadaoin (Wed), Aibreán (Apr) 14th
Keaneo back in the green
Great news, can't believe I missed it yesterday. The FAI Confirmed that Roy Keane is to return (BBC) to the Irish team after famously quitting during the World Cup 2 years ago!
Keane's return is welcome, we start the WC campaign in Setpember at home to Cyprus! more..
maca @ 10:36.
Dé Máirt (Tue), Aibreán (Apr) 13th
Disaster for Free Software?
Just browsing the web and dropped by the Gimp website and discovered their internet protest.
To quote:
"Most software will become illegal to use in Europe if this dangerous directive is adopted without proper amending."
"The Commission and the Council of Ministers are covertly pushing for unlimited patentability of software, heavily lobbied by multinationals and patent lawyers."
There is a demonstration in Brussels tomorrow, April 14th. If you can be there then please attend! more..
maca @ 02:43.
Dé Domhnaigh (Sun), Aibreán (Apr) 11th
PS2 HDD Add-on
There is now a 40GB hard drive add-on for Sony's PS2. Now that is a welcome add-on, for those of you who use the PS2 game consoles and are sick of the absolute-day-light-robbery-rip-off prices of memory cards.
€40 (8mb) vs €82 ($100)(40gb). You do the math! more..
maca @ 11:30.
Propaganda Pix
Ok, i'm a real cynic, I just really dislike kids being used for propaganda. more..
maca @ 11:19.
Teach nua againn
Tá teach nua againn anois ... bhuel is árasán é. 80m2, dhá sheomraí leapa, dhá sheomraí teaghaigh, dhá 'jacks' 7 balcóin (3h+tupak+p, 1./5 kerros - Suomeksi). Rachaidh muid a chónaí an tseachtain seo chugainn.
Tá sé ar fheabhas! more..
maca @ 12:41.
Dé Sathairn (Sat), Aibreán (Apr) 10th
X marks the prize
This is a damn interesting competition and worth keeping an eye on. The X-Prize is a competition to see who will be the first to launch a 3-person manned craft to the edge of space - twice within two weeks.
Scaled Composites' SpaceShipOne just had her 2nd test flight in Mojave cúpla lá ó shin and is one of the hot favourites to take the prize. Ach she is only one of over two dozen combatants battling it out to make history.
There's a wealth of articles ar fáil through Google News but make sure to check the X-Prize website. more..
maca @ 11:59.
Trimming Longhorn
To be able to get Longhorn to the customers on time it looks like Microsoft has to trim some features from their latest OS.
"Microsoft is not cutting back on its vision ... Instead the company is clipping features and functionality, without taking away the core of the improvements it promised, so it can deliver the product in a reasonable time frame"
If you want to know about Longhorn try the LH website at MSDN. more..
maca @ 04:15.
Dé hAoine (Fri), Aibreán (Apr) 9th
English langige
I was browsing a web forum, in particular one thread on the complexity of the english language when some member posted the following:
"We'll begin with a box, and the plural is boxes; but the plural of ox became oxen not oxes.
One fowl is a goose, but two are called geese, yet the plural of moose should never be meese.
You may find a lone mouse or a nest full of mice; yet the plural of house is houses, not hice.
If the plural of man is always called men, why shouldn't the plural of pan be called pen?
If I spoke of my foot and show you my feet, and I give you a boot, would a pair be called beet?
If one is a tooth and a whole set are teeth, why shouldn't the plural of booth be called beeth?
Then one may be that, and three would be those, yet hat in the plural would never be hose, and the plural of cat is cats, not cose.
We speak of a brother and also of brethren, but though we say mother, we never say methren.
Then the masculine pronouns are he, his and him, but imagine the feminine, she, shis and shim." more..
maca @ 04:45.
Quality Politics 2 - An Alternative Look at NI Politics Part 2
[revised & updated]
Part 2 of our design critique of NI Political Party websites we take another look at the same set of websites to see if they have actually made any improvements. The majourity of the sites made no significant changes.
more..
maca @ 02:09.
So this is free Baghdad
Another story from the Guardian. It's a year to the day that US troops helped pull down a statue of Saddam in Bagdad.
Whatever you think of the war, whether US/UK should have invaded or not, you have to admit that the war is far from over.
You'd think that the experience of the US in Vietnam and the UK in Northern Ireland that these wars are long and costly. Bush may have declared victory for the allies but in reality there has been no victory and there never will be a victory for the allies. IMHO. more..
maca @ 11:32.
Laws have failed to stem flow of spam
News from the Guardian, and also covered in a number of other sites, "pornography and spam continue to flood email inboxes despite government attempts to stem the tide".
"New laws passed last December made it a criminal offence, punishable by a fine, to send spam to private email addresses". They could have asked me and I would have told them it wsn't working!! more..
maca @ 11:22.
Pethetic...
"It has long been thought that ancient Egyptians were the first to domesticate cats, breeding wild felines to create a distinct new species around 4,000 years ago ... But the new evidence pushes the human-cat relationship back another 5,000 years"
Apparently French reseachers discovered a grave of a human with their cat which was about 9500 years old!
We're 10 thousand years at it but I still don't see the fascination of having a pet! more..
maca @ 10:27.
Déardaoin (Thu), Aibreán (Apr) 8th
What a porker...
Feel a bit ripped of today.
Our basement was broken into and a bicycle stolen...2 weeks ago! The cops were around but never informed us or asked if anything was stolen. It's only today when we went to the basement that we saw what had happened.
The bike is replaceable but I am majour league pied off with the pigs for not even coming to tell us what had happened or even asking if anything has been taken! What can ya do?
The other pier is that the insurance won't pay for it!
Such is life, what do they say? ... what doesn't kill you ... makes you stronger leaves you paralyzed, dribbling out the side of your mouth and shitting in your pants ... more..
maca @ 11:31.
Mobile news & sports
If you're into the aul mobile internet jazz here's a few links.
1. Breaking News.ie - latest Irish & international news & sports to your mobile:
http://wap.tcm.ie/
2. The BBC have put together an excellent mobile for all the latest sport, including top stories, live match summaries, scores etc
http://www.bbc.co.uk/mobile/sport
3. Live GAA scores by text message (Ireland only)
http://www.setanta.com/gaa-football/story.jsp?story=WCContent;id-52381
4. Latest soccer scores, international & the "home nations"
http://wap.livescore.com/
5. 6 nations text alerts - too late now but for future reference.
http://planet-rugby.com/Mobile_Text_Alerts/index.shtml
Finally Google search: www.google.com/wml
I'll have a root around for a few more. more..
maca @ 10:50.
Anti-genocide measures
Cousin Kofi has revealed a series of anti-genocide measures [update: better link here] to prevent genocide from ever happening.
Bit late now Kofi but better late than never I reckon.
From the second link above, the "Special advisor" will "collect information on potential or existing situations or threats of genocide and make recommendations to the Security Council on actions that should be taken".
Oh well that's it then, the Security Council will take the right actions...or turn their back like they did before?? more..
maca @ 09:06.
Dé Céadaoin (Wed), Aibreán (Apr) 7th
Sancity of the church
The Allies have had a bad 4 days in Iraq during which approximatly 200 Iraqis were killed as well as many Allied soldiers killed and quite a number injured. Yesterday alone 12 marines were killed, quite a loss in a single day, for the Allies. The Allies are on operation "Vigilant Resolve" which today involved firing missiles into a mosque.
It may seem like a small point to take from a larger story but I have to question the morality of bombing a mosque. Yes there were rebels inside but if this was a catholic country (for example) would they be as quick to blow up a church? Worrying either way! more..
maca @ 07:04.
Only convicted 9/11 terrorist released...
The only person convicted for involvement in the September 11 attacks has been released today in Germany! His release is pending the outcome of his retrial on charges of aiding the Hamburg al-Qaida.
That'll make the US administration happy no doubt. more..
maca @ 04:12.
More about GMail
More information about Google's GMail with a good explanation of the service comparisons with Yahoo & Hotmail and the concerns about privacy...
[update 8Apr 08:35GMT ] even more information about the service more..
maca @ 04:09.
Spirit to retire...
The Mars explorer has completed it's primary mission. It is now set to retire to a nice villa out by Opportunity Ledge. Or is it? More work to be done.
Meanwhile, some people are asking are there bunnies on Mars? more..
maca @ 01:38.
GMail vs Spymac
While Google are facing allegations of privacy invasion concerning their new GMail service, Spymac releases their new free POP3 accounts equalling Googles whopping 1GB storage!
It sounds too good to be true especially as it's POP3 and users can just use an email client to read their mails. Usually these services earn their revenue through pumping their sites full of ads [mar shampla: Hotmail, Yahoo mail] so you'd wonder where's the catch with Spymac! more..
maca @ 01:27.
Sex may cut men's cancer risk
"Men who have sex -- LOTS of sex -- have a lower risk of getting prostate cancer"
That's good enough for me... more..
maca @ 01:16.
Lindows or Windows...
It appears that software company Lindows Inc will change the international name of their Lindows web presence and products.
The question I have is why you would want to use the name Lindows anyway as it just sounds like a pi-take of Windows?
FYI other pi-takes I know of [and use] include:
"Micro$oft" - Microsoft
"Internet Exploder" - MS Web Browser
"Nutscrape" - Netscape Web Browser more..
maca @ 01:13.
China's got the power
I was watching this on the telly last night and imagined how pi**ed off i'd be.
Beijing has decided to assert more control over Hong Kong politics, which according to some locals takes away their autonomy and democracy.
That may be overstating the issue but it must be troubling for Hong Kong'ers none the less. more..
maca @ 01:03.
Rwanda Anniversary
As you probably know it's the 10th anniversary [yesterday] of the start of the genocide in Rwanda.
"Rwanda's genocide began on the night of April 6, 1994, after the shooting down of a plane carrying the Rwandan and Burundian presidents, who both died in the crash near Kigali."
"Nearly one million Tutsis and Hutu moderates were butchered by Hutu extremists in 100 days of brutal and unrestrained violence."
Why the Security Council "voted instead to cut his force from 2,500 troops to 450 poorly trained and ill-equipped men" is beyond me but certainly the West must bear a lot of the responsibility for turning their backs on Rwanda. more..
maca @ 05:48.
US won't send troops into Pakistan
You'd wonder, despite all their talk about wiping out the Taliban and Al Queda, why the US won't send troops to support the Pakistani Army.
They said they'd "deal with terrorists hiding in the region if Pakistan fails to act".
Well Pakistan is acting, all credit to them, but I am sure a little help wouldn't go astray. And surely the US would be itching to dive right in to action especially where there is approx. 500 enemy soldiers there. Go figure.
more..
maca @ 12:38.
Dé Máirt (Tue), Aibreán (Apr) 6th
Birthday present for Paisley
Ian Paisley was finally given the freedom of his home town yesterday after it had been rejected before.
Happy birthday ya aul fecker 
more..
maca @ 02:24.
Sham arrested in airport with gun
What sort of jackass tries to bring a gun on a plane? Don't these people realise there are metal detectors which you have to pass through? Pure cheek or pure stupidity... more..
maca @ 02:21.
Summer time and the living is...improving...
Pretty miserable looking weather back home these days. Out here sa bhFionlainn things are really looking up. It was about +16 degrees yesterday which must have been the warmest day in about 6 months!!
In fact we'll likely have constant sunshine from now until September...albeit with the rare bit of drizzle. more..
maca @ 02:07.
Change yer mind...
It's change yer mind week on Blas from the 10th to the 16th of May. They'll be talkin to "a range of people who have changed their minds, and their lives by educating themselves in a different way or introduced themselves to a different subject". Monday's one might be interesting.
Think i'll change my mind tomorrow and stay in bed, this working thing is no craic at all. more..
maca @ 02:01.
New Support Forum
We've been working on a new support forum for the SSI-Developer site. Actually, in truth, Enzo has set it up in about 5 minutes so to say we've been "working on it" isn't quite right.
Anyway, it's just been put online, we still have to redesign it, it still has the same 'skin' it came with, which is dreadful really. 
Check it out and if you've any suggestions feel free to give us a shout...
more..
maca @ 12:41.
Sunbird Calendar
I've just started using the Sunbird calendar.
I was on the hunt for a simple free calendar, tried a few shite ones but this is the first decent one which is totally free.
It's basic, and a bit buggy because it's still very early in its development but it'll be excellent when finished.
more..
maca @ 12:21.
Dé Luain (Mon), Aibreán (Apr) 5th
Sexy Irish Accent
Another one from Irishabroad.com...apparently the Irish accent is the sexiest accent in Ireland and the UK. It seems that people such as Colin Farrell, Stuart Townsend, Gabriel Byrne and myself were "all responsible for sexing up the Irish accent"
Sorry ladies, i'm not single... more..
maca @ 01:35.
Stakeknife Book
The book co-authored by Stakeknife and Greg Harkin could be worth a read.
The book is said to highlight "widespread institutional collusion between the security establishment and paramilitaries in the North of Ireland".
Should be worth a read, no matter what your politics. more..
maca @ 01:32.
Déardaoin (Thu), Aibreán (Apr) 1st
Irish quote
Found an interesting quote from an Irish language activist:
"Remember, the Irish tongue and the generous and tender hearted Gaelic sensibility inherent in it, have come down to us from great antiquity and it would be a depredation beyond all bearing, were that guileless soul and that gentle and civilized tongue to be lost to us and to our descendants forever."
-An Dochtúir Risteard de hIndeberg (Richard Henebry - Irish Language Activist, Musician & Author)
More info on the great Doctor can be found from the Dungarvan Museum website. more..
maca @ 09:07.