Sometimes, the raw numbers can be sobering. The Health Service Executive reports that Numbers this week’s Influenza Like Illness rate, which tracks the level of illness in the community, is 210 per 100,000 a significant increase from last week’s rate of 154 per 100000. There are currently 109 people in hospital of a total of …
Monthly Archive: October 2009
Oct 28
Just Connect
In case you’ve been living under a rock, windows 7 (or Microsoft 7, as one headline writer labelled it) debuted last week. Since I don’t use Windows software, I’ve been paying attention to a different operating system launch. Karmic Koala, the latest linux distro from Ubuntu, hits the servers tomorrow. Normally, I’d look forward to …
Oct 27
Reading Matters
It’s been a while since I’ve updated (a combination of work and connectivity issues) so I thought I’d spend some time on what I’ve been reading. If you haven’t done so already, bookmark The Story. The brianchild of Mark Coughlan and Gavin Sheridan, it’s a must see site if you want to see the devil …
Oct 16
The Perils of E-commerce
A MAN stopped for drink driving by Gardai blamed a breathalyser kit he bought on the internet for giving a false reading. James Fitzpatrick, with an address at 210 Phoenix View Apartments, James Street, Dublin, appeared recently before Kildare district court. Fitzpatrick, who represented himself, told Judge Desmond Zaidan his father bought an alcohol tester …
Oct 15
Arithmetic of Hope
NAMA has prepared a ‘draft business plan‘. Or rather, the ‘interim NAMA team’ prepared a business plan, since the bill creating NAMA is not law yet. The interim team thinks NAMA will make a profit of €5.48 billion by 2020. It will do this while receiving €12 billion in interest, and paying out €16 billion …
Oct 12
Streisand Effect
The Guardian reports it has been gagged from reporting parliament. It cannot report that a particular question was asked of a minister, or who asked the question, what the question is, which minister might answer it, or where the question can be found. Nor is it allowed to say why it can’t tell you those …
Oct 08
Just A Phone Call Away
Garda John O’Toole needed a favour. Phone records necessary for a criminal inquiry were trapped in bureaucratic hell, and the investigation was going nowhere. He phoned his brother-in-law in Garda HQ, asking if he could speed things up. The chief had signed the authorisations, but nothing was happening at the phone company. DI Nyham said …
Oct 06
The Last Few Days
I spent Saturday in Dublin Castle, watching as the non-event that was the Lisbon treaty referendum count unfolded with a complete lack of drama. Bored journalists loitered without intent, and occasionally politicians showed up grinning from ear to ear and basking in victory, photographers snapped away, and Nigel Farage spoke in front of foreign cameras …
