Just had a ping from an old friend and classmate who has recently started up a new business … Schäedz (pronounced “shades” I presume) selling fashion sunglasses for kids with 10% of profits going to preventable blindness charities.
Got to be worth a look at www.schaedz.com if you’re in the market (it’s a bit rainy in Dublin these days to worry about ‘em just now, but kids do love sunglasses !)
With three kids all looking for treats, this comes in quite useful far too often 
Fruit scones:
Ingredients : (All measures are approximate)
Utensils:
Method :
It came to pass that an iPod adaptor was aquired, along with the various cables, dongles etc to allow it to function correctly as a cd-changer emulator for my Citroen’s Clarion head unit ( a PU-2295B(H) if anyone cares). This is the stock cd-player head unit that comes with many of Citroen’s multiplexed cars.
There is, however, a rather interesting caveat: Citroen (and I believe their sister company Peugeot) have their head-units configured in such a way that despite having a CD-Changer button on the front, and all the right wires at the back – will not recognise an aftermarket cd-changer without a visit (at a cost, you understand !) to the local dealership – who will take the car, and connect it to a diagnostics machine and reconfigure the radio to accept a cd changer.
The mind boggles … if it weren’t for the very neat integration of the C5’s head unit with the higher-up on-dash display, and the steering-column remote control etc, I’d be very tempted right now to just swap it out for a nice aftermarket unit !
Been playing with my new Sipura 3000 voip adaptor for the last few days …
Until today though, I could only get either VoIP outbound or PSTN outbound to work, what I’d wanted to do was get it configured so that if I dial normally – I get a regular PSTN call, but if I dial a prefix (9), I get a VoIP call …
(999< :@gw0>|112< :@gw0>|<9:>x.|[0-8]x.< :@gw0>)
Is the dial-plan that worked !
What it means is:
Route calls to 999 (or 112) to gw0 (the PSTN interface), ditto any other calls beginning with the numbers 0 through 8
Any call with an initial digit of 9 has the 9 dropped, and is routed over VoIP
Among other house-hacking projects, insulating and flooring the attic are currently in progress. This will become a home for my server, and the noisy parts of my computer kit (and will also leave us a little more space in the rest of the house !)
We looked at the options for insulating it, we peeked up after a few weeks in the house, and realised no-one had been up there since the place was re-wired in the 1970s. The insulation was ancient, and might as well not have been there. So, we decided to insulate on the slopes of the roof – to ensure the temp in the attic was reasonable all year-round.
Sheep wool insulation (www.sheepwoolinsulation.ie) seemed an obvious choice. It’s as good as, if not better than fibreglass, and doesn’t need all the protective gear. The guys in Rathdrum are really nice too – happy to talk (even though they’re overworked at the moment) and great to deal with, they even called me the day after the insulation was delivered to check that it had arrived okay !
So far the experience of installing it hasn’t been too bad – hardest part is the climbing around the attic … maybe we should have put the floor down first !!
Got myself a Canon EOS 350D there recently. I have to say – it’s a really nice camera !
Went mad on eBay within a week or so of getting it though (it’s a dangerous place when you’re looking for a few toys !) Ended up with three 35mm SLRs as well … One older Canon EOS 300, and two EOS 300Vs !! (One of the Vs was an accident I’ll admit – won an auction I’d thought I was losing due to the winner pulling out.) The 300V is quite a nice 35mm SLR, and makes a nice compliment to the 350D. They share the same lenses (well the 350D can take the new EF-S mounts too but that’s another story).
What really amazes me is that I got the three 35mm ones, for the price of the 300V body-only in some of the local shops. And they all included lenses ! Go figure !
Subscribed to “Amateur Photographer” a UK based photography mag, still haven’t got my first issue, but that’ll arrive soon enough !
Hell – I might even post a picture or three when I get around to doing something with ‘em !
It’s been ages since I posted anything here … mainly because I’m up the walls, literally !
Since we moved into the new house (we got number 10 – did I mention that !!) it’s been all go ! The electrics here were last done in or around 1975, so are a little antiquated … we were making do, until we got Sky+ installed (well worth the money !). The cowboy-installer threw cable up, over the roof (the dish is at the back) and down the front of the house, in through the wall at the front and around the living room! This wasn’t going to do.
So, in a fit of madness, I bought a reel of sat cable, and dug holes through the walls in the house and ran the cable internally. Then decided that network cables would make a nice compliment to the sat cables I was running, and sure, while I’m at it – let’s add a dozen or so extra sockets to the mix. End result being a lot of dust, plastering, hole digging (SDS drills with chisel bits are good !!), and general mayhem.
Getting towards end-game now though. The wiring is mostly done (only the power to the attic and the new bedroom sockets to go now !). Next job – attic flooring !
Well, we moved house a week or so ago … so things are somewhat up in the air. Still living out of boxes while we try to find places for everything, and figure out where to put new cupboards etc !
Wibble ’s back from his honeymoon – Congrats man !
Michael’s started walking, so we’re in real trouble now !
Posted about these a while back … but this Linux RTL8180 driver seems to be a great place to start !
For some reason this one got past my spam filters … but the name of the ‘contact’ made me read it !
Dear Friend,
I am Derek Davis and I represent Mr. Mikhail Khordokovsky the former C.E.O of Yukos Oil Company in Russia. I have a very sensitive and confidential brief from this top (Oligarch) to ask for your partnership in re-profiling funds over US$450 million. I will give you the details, but in summary, the funds are coming via Bank Menatep. This is a legitimate transaction. You will be paid 4% for your “Management Fees”.
Write back by email and provide me with your confidential telephone number, fax number and email address and I will provide further details and instructions. Please keep this confidential; we can*t afford more political problems.
Finally, please note that this must be concluded within two weeks. Please write back promptly.Write me back as soon as you get this mail. I look forward to it.
Regards,
Derek Davis
It’s been a while, and people have been promised updates etc …
We sold the house last week – a little less than we’d hoped for, but enough to make the numbers work. So it’s all in the hands of the solicitors now.
Michael’s had a nasty cold for the last few days, I know it’s nasty, because he gave it to me too !
There’s a nice three-bed terraced house for sale in Lusk, north Co. Dublin – if anyone knows someone looking for one … Offers in excess of Eur 250,000 will be entertained by Gunne in Swords.
Well … Rover have decided not to honour the generous 3-year warranties on their new cars – even if you bought it last week – you’re Sod-Outta-Luck 
Dad just bought a new car last week, and was sorely tempted by the Rover 45, he’s glad now that he didn’t go for it in the end.
An interesting article pointed out on IRC debunks the suggestion that there is no word in the Irish language for Sex !
ag bualadh leathair
ag déanamh pite boid
ag déanamh pís ghlaice
ag ealáin
an cleas a dhéanamh
collaíocht
craiceann a bhualadh
craiceann a dhéanamh
cuid a dhéanamh de
focáil
gnéas
Although I’d disagree that some of those are Gaeilge ceart (mar dhea), I’ve at least heard of most of ‘em … there’s one that’s definate Béarlachas … but I’ll leave that to you to guess !
Well, the maths has been done. The decisions made, the “SALE AGREED” sign has gone up, there’s no turning back now …
We’ve finally agreed a price on the house, a whopping EUR 470,000 !
Now all we have to do is:
It’s amazing just how much crap can build up in 18-months … especially where there’s a kid involved !
I’ve only just looked at the front-page of this blog now, it’s dreadful !
Any of you web-designer types out there care to lend a few suggestions – I’m not great at mucking around in CSS or indeed in the templates that come with these newfangled bits of blogging software Donncha keeps hacking up !
Since my grandmother passed away last December things have been a little strange … we’ve all got to claim various bits and pieces of furniture / keepsakes etc. That’s normal enough, but now the hard part is upon us – the house is up for sale .
That – of course – is the sad part. The strange thing is that even with a pricetag that stands at well over €420,000 – we’ve done the maths and figure we could afford to buy it. The only issue is – do we want to ?
The area it’s in is an old neighbourhood – well established … the house itself is big (at least 25% bigger than our current one), the gardens are also very big, especially by modern standards, and all in all, on paper, everything adds up.
The house went on the open market last weekend, and there were plenty of interested viewers. So time isn’t a luxury we really have in coming to this decision … it’s all down now to weighing up the pros and cons …
There seem to be too few cons, which bugs me. I know it’d feel strange living there, but we’d get over that … This must be what angst feels like !
Got this in an email … yeah … one of them, but it’s just so classic it had to be shared:
The following came from an anonymous mother in Austin, Texas:
“Things I’ve learned from my children (honest, and no kidding):
1. A king-size waterbed holds enough water to fill a 3 bedroom house about 4 inches deep.
2. If you spray hair spray on a nylon duster and then run over it with roller skates/blades, they can ignite.
3. A 3-year-old’s voice is louder than 200 adults in a crowded restaurant.
4. If you hook a dog lead over a ceiling fan, the motor is not strong enough to rotate a 3-stone boy wearing Batman underwear and a Superman cape. However, it is strong enough, if tied to a paint tin, to spread paint on all four walls of a large room.
5. You should not throw balls up when the ceiling fan is on, using the ceiling fan as a bat; you have to throw the ball up a few times before you get a hit. A ceiling fan can then hit a ball a long way.
6. The glass in windows (even double-glazed) doesn’t stop a ball hit by a ceiling fan.
7. When you hear the toilet flush and the words “uh oh,”it’s already too late.
8. Brake fluid mixed with bleach makes smoke, and lots of it.
9. A six-year-old can start a fire with a flint rock, even though a 36-year-old man says they can only do it in the movies.
10. Certain bits of Lego will pass through the digestive tract of a 4-year-old.
11. Playdough and microwave should not be used in the same sentence.
12. Superglue is forever.
13. No matter how much jelly you put in a swimming pool you still can’t walk on water.
14. Pool filters do not like jelly.
15. VCR’s do not eject toasted sandwiches, even though TV commercials show they do.
17. Marbles in petrol tanks make lots of noise when driving and are very expensive to remove.
18. You probably do not want to know what that smell really is.
19. Always look in the oven before you turn it on. Plastic toys do not like ovens.
20. The average response time for the fire brigade is about 20 minutes.
21. The spin cycle on the washing machine does not make earthworms dizzy.
22. …It will, however, make cats dizzy.
23. Cats throw up twice their body weight when dizzy.
24. The mind of a 6-year-old is a wonderful and amazing thing. One day the infant school teacher was reading the story of the Three Little Pigs to her class. She came to the part of the story where the first pig was trying to accumulate the building materials for his home.
She read, “…and so the pig went up to the man with the wheelbarrow full of straw And said, “Pardon me sir, but may I have some of that straw to build my house? “The teacher paused then asked the class, “And what do you think that man said?”
One little boy raised his hand and said, “I think he said …’Holy xxxxx! A talking pig!’ “The teacher was unable to teach for the next 10 minutes.
25. 60% of men who read this will try mixing the bleach and brake fluid.
Slashdot had this – and I just had to get in on the act !
Why Does Windows Still Suck? / Why do PC users put up with so many viruses and worms? Why isn’t everyone on a Mac?
Here, then, is my big obvious question: Why the hell do people put up with this? Why is there not some massive revolt, some huge insurrection against Microsoft? Why is there not a huge contingent of furious users stomping up to Seattle with torches and scythes and crowbars, demanding the Windows Frankenstein monster be sacrificed at the altar of decent functionality and an elegant user interface?
Yep, it’s been a strange sort of day, especially on #linux … the sort of day where things like theology get discussed – and everyone has their own opinions.
I have to say though – the best post of the day goes to kae – and Colm:
18:05 < kae> Cogito Ergo Um, i think it was
< ...>
18:05 < Colm> I do like “cogito ergo um”, though… “I think, therefore, er…”