Hello there
There are billions of websites on the internet. Thank you for clicking on my one.
I've had this website for years and I used to use it to collect a load of nonsense about giraffes and a made-up fact about post codes.
The internet has moved on a lot since then, and seeing as I'm not in to data harvesting or Bitcoin scams my website started to feel a bit left out by the whole thing. I have now cleared out the worst of the nonsense, leaving behind a few blog posts and a bit of hope that I will excitedly update it more often.
I veer wildly between late-1990s TV nostalgia, social media pictures of signs which amuse me and occasional serious recollections from when I used to work hard in the travel industry. Keep checking back for a messy concoction of all three, plus a few more travel tales.
Lowering Dublin speed limits isn't a great help
Part of the problem - and I know this will sound crazy to anyone who has endured the chaos around College Green - is that the roads are too wide.
There aren't many European city centres who would designate big portions of the street for cars while pedestrians are told to stick to a narrow, crowded path. Yet that does describe most of Dublin City Centre.
Allocating cars a wide expanse of tarmac makes it too easy to drive like you're the only one around, and become totally oblivious of whatever chaos might be happening on the footpaths and in the cycle lanes. That's bad driving, but it's common behaviour.
The other problem - and you're more likely to believe this part - is that traffic on the Quays moves so slowly that the moment you see a gap, it's difficult to resist the temptation to get some movement going. Even if there's a group of Americans crossing at Ha'penny Bridge.
January 2020
Why the Kardashians suddenly care about the planet
In the last few days, members of the Kardashian family - who are basically a cross between a family of '70s oil tycoons and a page 3 girl - have started posting how shocked they are at the Australian bushfires on social media.
Their Instagram stories have been full of cried of this thing called "climate change".
Many of their followers have pointed out it's odd how they've never mentioned it before. It's also odd that they should care at all, given that they fly across the world in multiple private jets.
Most importantly, it's odd that they should feel so helpless, as they have more than enough money to make a significant difference to the resources available to help the awful situation in Australia and to fight climate change all around the world.
You don't get famous if you're not saying the right thing at the right time.
Read yet another moan about famous people >
January 2020
Campaign for Ant & Dec's crew to stop laughing every 5 seconds
Is anybody else fed up - and a bit confused - at the way the camera crew on I'm A Celebrity will howl with laughter every single time Ant & Dec open their mouths?
I'd love to know why this actually happens. Ant & Dec generally have high production standards - they tend to work on big budget shows - and I can't imagine them saying "we're feeling a bit sensitive, can you massage our egos with applause even if it looks ridiculous?"
But why else would it happen? Most Ant & Dec shows involve a live studio audience. It's what they do. They make each other laugh and that makes more people laugh. It's great. But if they can't read a script without getting fake gratification from their colleagues, maybe this isn't the right show for them?
I don't think it can be that. If that was the problem, there would be ways of solving it without going over-the-top.
December 2019
Notions! What's In A Name?
Dublin has many highlights to it, but the slow crawl through a zombie crowd past fast food shops and Disney stores is not one of them.
The street looks tired, and it's filthy. It has irritating and unwelcoming posts all over it that defy basic street design. It's not designed for people: there's no-where to sit or rest for a moment. It wants you to go away.
Perhaps that's the thing that bothers me most when I learn that Grafton Street has been part of some-sort of secret rebranding project to make it sound more classy. You can think of it as Grafton Quarter if you like, council, but I'd appreciate it more if you came up with a stylish street to go with your stylish name.
I suspect that isn't why everybody else is outraged by the new Christmas lights though. The reason for that is really quite simple: you can't tell people what to call things.
November 2019
Crackers and Marshmallows
The internet is full of idiots trying to do eating challenges. It gives me great pleasure to join them.
I genuinely believed my strategy of force-feeding myself would at least lead to a credible result. I hate crackers.
September 2019
A Sickly Team
Simply greeting the team at the start of the show led to the conclusion that the whole team is feeling too sick to work.
September 2019
The Worst Interview I've Ever Sat Through
A discussion about mistakes people make during job interviews led me to some of the most awkward interviews I have ever hosted.
September 2019
Radio's Obsession With Popularity
A few weeks ago I was having a nice conversation with a former RTÉ 2FM presenter about how the industry has changed so suddenly. Imagine my surprise when, just a few weeks later, that conversation was played out over social media.
Let me explain. I work in radio. I don't have the most amazing job in the world, but I have a great job in a great industry. I have lots of friends who work in the same industry. When there's radio news, there's reaction to it all over my social media feeds.
This morning's news is that the people's darling Greg O'Shea is being parachuted into a top job at RTÉ 2FM. People who have worked hard to refine their craft in radio are being overtaken by some chancer purely because gossip magazines happen to like him at the moment.
September 2019
Dublin City Council: Where Are We Going?
My overriding impression is that Dublin could be an amazing city. But it's like it doesn't want to become one. And that is so frustrating to see every day.
You go to the premier streets like Henry Street or O'Connell and there are no benches or fountains because the streets are just tools, places we use while on our way somewhere.
The reaction to The Bernard Shaw closing has been impressive, and I'm not surprised some people think it's too much. You might think it's a bit of a stretch that I'm going to tie it into this post.
September 2019
