Ssssh...it happens

Yesterday afternoon was wonderful for me, my friends, just one damn thing after another:-

1. So the weather finally stays good enough for long enough for me to decide to cut the lawns (front and back). It's been about a month since I cut them last, so things were starting to get a little bit out of hands, herb-wise. Having spent an hour or so pushing my decrepit old lawnmower around, I finished up and went to put the mower back in the garage...only to find that the garage door wouldn't close properly. The left and right sides of the door didn't seem to be on the same page of the script, to the effect that the left-side would go down half-way, but the right-side wouldn't budge, ergo the garage door was starting to twist. An hour spent pulling and dragging only lead to the roller on the left-side popping out of its track. Repeated belts of the roller with a lump hammer lead to the flattening of part of the track. I tried to cut and bend that part of the track, but to no avail. I even tried to unscrew the track from the wall - the top screw was seized tight. By the time I finally got the roller on the left-side sorted, the roller on the right popped out of its track. I then realised that the strut supporting the right-side of the door seemed to be seized. By this stage, my priority was to get some way of covering up the opening to the garage (not that there's anything worth stealing - it's the principle of the thing, y'know). But since the door was not budging and was also quite twisted - beyond repair, I should imagine - I took the decisive step of cutting the door away from its supporting struts and allowing it to stand freely at the opening, being "held in place" by reversing my new van into the opening (I knew I'd find a use for it). I'm guessing a replacement door is going to cost a few thousand euro, but what can I do? I have to have a garage door...
2. Then last night, having got a fill of home heating oil, I followed the standard procedure of bleeding the system at the pump. This involves loosening a nut at the base of the bump and running it, so that some of the oil spills out but clears any airlocks in the pipeline. Only there was no oil spillage - I'm guessing there is dirt somewhere at the outlet of the oil tank. And that's way beyond my ability as a DIY-er. Boiler Guy is due on Tuesday a.m.
   
3. And then to top it all, while mowing the lawn, I got stung by a nettle for the first time in about thirty years. It didn't hurt as much as it used to in the old days - I've obviously acquired a thick skin somewhere along the line, but it's the principle of the thing - guys my age shouldn't get stung by nettles, that's kids stuff

Who'd be me, eh...?:-)

Regards,


djp

Van gone, van got...

After over 8 years of ownership and some 10,000 (vaguely) fun-filled miles, I finally traded in my old 1993 VW Transporter. Although mechanically in pretty good nick, it has just failed its DOE roadworthiness test. Without its roadworthiness cert., I can't tax it and the cost of sorting it out would be more than the van itself is worth. So, somewhat regretfully, I've traded it in for...


...this 1998 Toyota Hiace. It won't win any concourse competitions, but it's just the thing for whatever the hell it is I need it for - whatever that is...:-)

N.B., note Korky getting in on the act. That damn cat.

Regards,


djp

Critter Cadaver No. 4 - dead pigeon

"Coo, e's big, innee?"

Some more of Panther's handiwork, I reckon.

This chap was so big that I couldn't pick him up with my garden grabber (a very useful item if, like me, you have to dispose of dead critters from the back garden), so I had to use a spade to pick him up and lob him into the ditch at the back of the house.

I'm surprised that the pigeons haven't been hit before. There are at least two pigeons which have been knocking around our place for the last few years, and I've often thought they'd be fair game (pun intended). Panther eventually came to the same conclusion - well I never said he was the sharpest chisel in the toolbox...

Regards,


djp

My Top 10 iPod tracks - 01/09/2008

1. (-) - Better Things - The Kinks
2. (9) - No Way Of Knowing - A. Tent
3. (-) - From Me To You - The Beatles
4. (-) - The Ballad Of John & Yoko - The Beatles
5. (1) - Easter Parade - The Blue Nile
6. (2) - Do It - Buzzcocks
7. (3) - I'm Afraid - The Cardboard Lung
8. (-) - The Loneliness Of A Tower Crane Driver - Elbow
9. (4) - One Day Like This - Elbow
10. (-) - Michael - Franz Ferdinand

Regards,


djp

Technology be damned...

Had a devilish time this morning trying to program a MIDI file for eventual conversion to audio. My PC "doesn't like" Cubase very much (my new laptop fairly likewise), and it has a tendency to add a certain element of "latency" when trying to play MIDI on a keyboard, so I use a free program called MIDI Maestro which is great for programming (no latency) but is lousy for editing. I program using MIDI Maestro on the PC and then copy across to the laptop to edit in Cubase and THEN copy it back to the PC to "play" using MIDI Maestro. I record the resulting audio on my laptop using Cool Edit Pro. Left, right, left, right...

Well, that's the plan anyway...the new laptop has Windows Vista, which doesn't much like DVDs burnt on my PC using Nero Express. And vice versa - the PC can't seem to read DVDs burnt on the laptop under Vista. After about 30 minutes trying to transfer the files physically, I gave up and sent myself an e-mail from the laptop to the PC, attaching the edited MIDI file.

That worked fine, except that when I went to record the resulting audio, my laptop didn't like my audio interface, even though I'd used it a few weeks ago in Castleisland. After much cursing, swearing, plugging/unplugging the interface, starting up/shutting down Cool Edit and eventually re-booting the laptop, I ended up having to re-install the drivers for the interface. That worked in the end and I got all my work done.

The laptop was supposed to solve a number of my technical problems. Not so sure now that it's all going to be a happy relationship - however, I suspect that the real culprit here is Windows Vista rather than the laptop itself...

Regards,


djp

Well, Derrick, water you know?

Came back from a wee shopping trip up in Kildare today and found this little beauty in the space in front of the bungalow we are renovating...

We're installing a geothermal heating system and that involves drilling a deep hole - deep enough to encounter a source of warm, subterranean water. Here's hoping they drill deep enough to find oil, but not deep enough to find magma...:-)

Regards,


djp

Cat-egory

Korky's little secret is out - he, sir, is a "she", sir...:-)

Regards,


djp

My Top 10 iPod tracks - 01/08/2008

1. (5) - Easter Parade - The Blue Nile
2. (-) - Do It - Buzzcocks
3. (1) - I'm Afraid - The Cardboard Lung
4. (-) - One Day Like This - Elbow
5. (-) - The Greatest Show On Earth - JP Den Tex
6. (-) - Living On A Thin Line - The Kinks
7. (2) - Ben Kenobi's Theme - Patrick Gleeson
8. (3) - Lullaby - Pugwash & Friends
9. (-) - No Way Of Knowing - A. Tent
10. (4) - Le Soleil Est Pres De Moi - Air

Regards,


djp

The best rock album in the world...ever

As of this moment, that accolade belongs to the 2 CD Deluxe Edition of "Live At Leeds" by the Who.

You can pick up the single CD version handily enough, and it's a brilliant album in its own right. There isn't a duff track on it and the standout track has to be the live version of "A Quick One". Truly awesome. Four artists, three musicians, a righteous racket.

But if you want to do yourself a favour, seek out the 2 CD version, which includes a complete live performance of "Tommy". It takes the album to a whole new dimension of brilliance. Really.

Regards,


djp

Quill legs

(N.B. - not "quail eggs"...)

Yesterday, I was down in Castleisland to visit my cousin Redmond Roche. We had a jam session and recorded some (very) rough pieces of music. It was great crack...

...but as I spent about seven hours either standing up playing the bass or crouching on the floor trying to sort out various issues of a sound engineering nature (as in "where does that lead go to?", "where's that buzzing sound coming from?" or "why is nothing working?"), I woke up this morning back in Nenagh, suffering from a bad case of quill legs.

Quill legs is a phenomenon which is not unique to Nenagh, but which is suffered by a significant number of people, mostly men, from the town. The Quill is a famous pub in Nenagh and has been the location for many memorable work booze-ups over the years. These usually involved five or six hours of drinking beer, talking shite and...standing. The following day, one would wake up with a thumping headache, caused in part by the volume of alcohol consumed the night before and also (in the "good old days") by active and passive smoking. And of course, one would suffer from very stiff legs and derriere from all the standing. Quill legs.

Regards,


djp

Pigeon defaecetive

We were up in Galway yesterday, helping Elder Daughter buy a gown for her grad dance (I was helping by doing the driving and getting the hell out of the way).

I spent a nice hour sitting on the ground by the banks of the Corrib with my iPod on. The weather was nice and the banks were crowded with lots of young people. Afterwards, I wandered the streets enjoying the summer throngs - people sitting out in the fine weather eating or drinking coffee (or pints of stout).

Eventually, I decided to contact the other members of the gown-buying party. I stepped out of the throng and stood in front of a shop window. I was just in the process of sending Elder Daughter a text when I felt something warm, soft and squishy hit my left hand. I looked down and saw a glob of slimy mucus oozing down the back of my hand. I looked up and saw a pigeon turning his backside to me. Yes folks, I'd gotten a little "billet doux" from the bastard. It was a pretty good shot, I have to say. If I'd been him I'd've been rather proud of my accuracy.

I spent the next five minutes pushing through the mob, trying to find a newsagents where I could buy a bottle of water to wash my poor handie. I had to be careful not to proffer my money using my left hand - God know what the shop assistant would have thought if she'd seen the pigeon poo...

Of course, we all had a good laugh about it afterwards, but some laughed more than others.

Regards,


djp

Lads, in the name of Jaysus will ye get a life?

Click here and marvel at the capacity of humans to argue about non-essential issues...:-)

Regards,


djp

What's new with me?

Oh, some stuff...

1. We were in the UK for a few days at the end of June. Quite enjoyable, although the weather wasn't great. Some pics of Chester and Liverpool. Chester is a beautiful place - very laid back - I could imagine that if I stayed more than a week I'd turn completely mellow. Liverpool, on the other hand, is a bit of a kip, apart from the Albert Docks area. Sorry, Liverpool fans...
2. Elder Daughter turned 18 a few weeks ago. I am not allowed to post any pics (actually, I haven't asked for permission, but I know what reaction I'd get...). We had a nice meal out in the Peppermill in Nenagh. Gettin' ould, boy...
3. Got two bad soakings a couple of weeks ago and finally succumbed to a bad head cold last week. Just in time for a wedding last Saturday. I don't enjoy weddings much, but this one would've been OK if I hadn't been wearing the internal balaclava. I'm just getting over the cold now. Took a lot out of me.
4. My laptop has finally bought it. Or to be more precise, the adaptor isn't working anymore. Or to be even more precise, it was working this morning, but it ain't now. And the laptop's battery has fully discharged and can't now be recharged. And I've got some valuable data on the laptop's hard drive that I can't extract. I could get a replacement charger, but since I was going to be replacing the laptop in a few months, I thought I'd go the whole hog and get a new laptop now. I'm just as unlikely to be able to afford it in the future as I am right now (possibly even more so...) so what the hey? We got a laptop for Elder Daughter's birthday, so I'm getting an identical one from the same source.
5. Oh, and say hello to the new arrival in the family - Korky

He's quite a handful, and Panther and Poppy are having a touch time dealing with his youthful energy and exuberance. But hey, life goes on, dunnit? I suspect that Korky might have had something to do with the death of the laptop's adaptor. He seems to like cables of all sorts...:-)

Regards,


djp

My Top 10 iPod tracks - 01/07/2008

1. (1) - I'm Afraid - The Cardboard Lung
2. (2) - Ben Kenobi's Theme - Patrick Gleeson
3. (-) - Lullaby - Pugwash & Friends
4. (5) - Le Soleil Est Pres de Moi - Air
5. (-) - Easter Parade - The Blue Nile
6. (-) - So Much Love - Dusty Springfield
7. (10) - Grounds For Divorce - Elbow
8. (-) - The Loneliness Of A Tower Crane Driver - Elbow
9. (3) - Wrong Turnings - Gorky's Zygotic Mynci
10. (-) - These Winds - Gorky's Zygotic Mynci

Regards,


djp

New Year's Resolutions - UPDATE

Shur, why not?:-

1. To eat sushi for the first time - UPDATE - nearly managed it a few weeks ago when we were in Dublin for the Springsteen concert, only the sushi bar in the Dundrum Town Centre just seems to open for lunch
   
2. To get to see Arsenal play at least once this year - UPDATE - I'm booked to see the Gunners play Juventus as part of the Emirates Cup in early August (if I live that long...)
   
3. To visit a country I've never been to before (this one is looking good...) - UPDATE - sorted - the Czech Republic and Poland have been ticked off the list so far, and there is a slight possibility that Slovenia might be on the cards towards the end of the year.
   
4. To start cycling again as soon as the weather improves (this one is not looking good...) - UPDATE - I have gone cycling on a number of occasions in recent times, but not nearly as much as I should have. Still, it's some form of progress, innit?
   
5. To generally get the oul' bod a bit more together - UPDATE - see 4 above. And I have one or two other plans that might (or mightn't) work.
   
6. To move house - UPDATE - looking more like Christmas to be fair, but there has been a sudden surge in activity over the last few weeks. Who knows, eh?
   
7. To either change my car or keep it for longer - UPDATE - so far, it's looking like I'm keeping it, so, result...
   
8. To have a better year at work than I had last year (which wasn't bad, but had its "moments") - UPDATE - this year has been very good on the travel front and not so bad on other fronts, so I can't really complain too much
   
9. To see friends more - UPDATE - met Peter Fitz in Warsaw (how cool was that?) and my mate Jerry Kelliher the week before in Dublin. And I'm going to the Electric Picnic in September with my cousin Redmond, so I'm doing well here...
   
10. To stop wrecking me own head - UPDATE - well, 8 out of 10 ain't bad...

Regards,


djp

"I saw a saw sawing wood in Warsaw..."

Got back from Poland yesterday. Tired after a very busy, but very enjoyable, few days business.

Click here to see a few photos.

Warsaw looks rather like Prague in many ways. It certainly could do with a few bob being spent on it, but it is still rather attractive. One advantage Warsaw has over Prague is the fact that it is less afflicted by tourists, especially in the Stare Miesto area (Old Town to you (and me...)). However, there is a significant problem with poor service in restaurants and an unfortunate tendency to short-change tourists...

...oh, and for some bizarre reason, you can't buy postcards from the usual magazine/tobacco kiosks. Dunno why.

The best part of the trip was the fact that I met my old sparring partner Peter Fitzpatrick (he of the Pushing & Pulling blogsite) who was over from Dublin on business. I haven't met him in years. The occasion was so auspicious that it has been recorded for posterity (Peter's on the right...)

Would I go back to Warsaw. Certainly.

Regards,


djp

Well oiled...

Click here for a link to an RTE news report on the recent rise in oil prices.

The key sentence in the report is this:- "The weakening dollar boosts oil prices because it makes crude relatively cheaper for buyers using other currencies, analysts say".

The dollar has weakened significantly against the euro in recent months, and since oil is priced in dollars, you would then imagine that oil would be cheaper to purchase for those states which use the euro.

Nuh-uh.

Bear in mind that oil is a finite commodity and that the oil producers are purely motivated by the desire to make as much money as possible while the supply of oil lasts, then it is in their interest to address the issue of increased demand for oil (caused in part by the weakness of the dollar, which eats into the producers' profit margins) by increasing the price of oil.

So the sequence of events is not, as the man on the street might imagine:-

- weaker dollar vs. euro -> cheaper oil

but...

- weaker dollar vs. euro -> potentially reduced profits for producers -> more expensive oil.

On the face of it, and somewhat illogically, we in the eurozone would be potentially better off if the dollar was stronger against the euro, as this would mean that oil would be too expensive, therefore demand would fall, and consequently (in theory at least) the producers would have to reduce the price to stimulate demand. However, I doubt if that's the way the real world operates.

And even if there was a guaranteed unlimited supply of oil going on into infinity, I think the oil producers would find some way to ensure that the price of oil would always go up rather than down. You wouldn't want to give it away now, would you?

Oil is such a vitally important commodity to the global economy that the normal rules of the "punter" economy do not apply. Take avocado pears, for example. Hardly the most essential commodity in the world. And yet one might develop a taste for them and decide to buy them on a regular basis. However, if for some reason the price of avocado pears sky-rocketed, the normal punter might say "Naaah, too expensive..." and decide not to buy them so long as the price stayed high. It's the classic strategy for dealing with unacceptable prices. Am I happy with the price? No. Do I really need them? No. Will I continue to buy them? Not bloody likely.

The same simple scenario does not to apply to oil. Unless someone can come up with a truly viable alternative means of fuelling transport and the generation of energy (not to mention providing raw materials for plastics, fertiliser and the Devil knows what) then we will be compelled to buy oil at whatever price it is offered to us. We have no choice for now. The oil producers are in control. As my late mother might have delicately put it "The fuckers have us by the hasp of the arse".

Of course, one way of removing the oil producers from the equation completely is for us to use up all the world's supply of oil as quickly as possible. That way, the producers would soon run out of a commodity to control and could no longer hold us to ransom.

And I'm doing my bit to advance that strategy right now - I own a Lexus...

Regards,


djp

A busy couple of days ahead of me...

Off to Dublin tomorrow afternoon for meetings on Thursday and Friday. Back home Friday evening/night.

Off to Dublin Airport very early next Monday morning (as in 1 a.m.) to catch a flight to Warsaw in Poland for meetings on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Back home Friday evening/night.

Sounds like a bit of a drag, perhaps. Still, it's good to be busy, innit?

Regards,


djp

My Top 10 iPod Tracks - 01/06/2008

1. (-) - I'm Afraid - The Cardboard Lung
2. (-) - Ben Kenobi's Theme - Patrick Gleeson
3. (-) - Wrong Turnings - Gorky's Zygotic Mynci
4. (-) - Do What You Wanna Do - Acid House Kings
5. (-) - Le Soleil Est Pres De Moi - Air
6. (-) - Hormone Love - Blowoff
7. (-) - Atlantic City - Bruce Springsteen
8. (-) - Galvanize - The Chemical Brothers
9. (-) - The Certainty Of Chance - The Divine Comedy
10. (-) - Grounds For Divorce - Elbow

Regards,


djp

Plain ketchup

It's been a while since my last posting, but some interesting stuff has happened:-

1. Let's see - first, and perhaps most important - my elder daughter has graduated from second-level education (or "high school", if you prefer). She is about to face into her final exams (or "Leaving Cert", if you prefer) and is studying like mad. Last week, there was a "graduation" Mass said in her school. It was very pleasant and somewhat emotional - one does realise the passage of time when one's eldest offspring is finishing school and heading (hopefully) for university. Towards the end of the ceremony, the girls in her year sang Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah" a la Jeff Buckley and it brought a tear to my eye - not just for the occasion that was in it, but for the stupendous loss to the world caused by the untimely death of Jeff Buckley. Hmmm... Of course, back in my time, there was no such thing as "graduation". You just "left school". How things have changed...
   
2. I finally got my Rickenbacker bass after almost two years waiting and a snafu with my order. When I opened the case, I was instantly transported back to 1974 when I bought Sparks' "Kimono My House", which featured Martin Gordon playing a Ric 4001 bass. I have lusted after a Ric bass for 34 years and finally got to fulfill my dreams when I opened the new Ric's guitar case and plugged it into my POD. That sound that at the age of 11 convinced me that I should learn to play the bass. 1974 - I mean Jesus!
3. Took Mrs. P to see Bruce Springsteen in Dublin last night. I am not a fan of The Boss, but "the boss" is, so when the tickets came up for sale, I had no hesitation in getting a brace of tickets. Whatever I might think about Springsteen, he puts on a great show with no fancy stagecraft involved. A most enjoyable night all told, but my feet and knees were aching when we got back to the hotel. Gettin' ould, boy...
4. So this morning, we skipped breakfast and went straight to the Dundrum Town Centre, where both Mrs. P and I went for cooked breakfast. Being the gentleman that I am, I paid for both of our breakfasts. The bill came to €13.50. Amazing! I asked the guy at the checkout had he possibly undercharged me. "No", he said, "I charged for everything. Great value, isn't it?" Who was I to disagree? And the fee for 2 hours' parking was only €2. Almost made me feel like moving back to the Big Shmoke. And then I bought 3 hoodies and a polo shirt in Penneys for €32. I know I'm supposed to be concerned about our poor brethren in the Far East who work in intolerable conditions in sweatshops to make such sinfully-cheap clothing. But €32? I mean come on...:-)

Regards,


djp