10000bc review

Another friend has found himself blogging lately, kinda. Conor has guest posters (Ian and Taidy so far) doing a few reviews over on ConorDeeJayPeeSee.KOOM!

I really liked Ian's review of 10,000 BC:

So anyway one of the pikeys kill a CG mammoth by accident and wins the turd in a jar and all his other pikey buddies hug him in a, way too merry for it to be straight, fashion.

Next step Conor, install LouderVoice!

year in review

Like last year, you take the first sentence from the first post for each month of the year. It gives you a summary of 2007!

January: So I put off this post for a while.

Febuary: I'm going to do a month by month review of my posts on the Team Geared Up Blog here on my blog... *

March: What I've been up to lately: A bit of house keeping, replacing Gurr with Grrr!

April: A new month, some new changed to the blog!

May: This Saturday is 24 Hours of Flickr.

June: Following up on the RSS in Plain English video, Common Craft have created a video explaining wikis!

July: Ever wonder what you might look like as a Simpsons chatater?

August: Mid-July Blogger rolled out a new feature: You can now specify a URL to which Blogger will redirect your feed's traffic!

September: Last week my Aunt received this letter from BSkyB or Sky about Sky+.

October: My RTÉ post got a lot of reaction.

November: Now that Hallowe'en is finished for the year, it has given everyone the all clear to start to talk about the C word.

December: I finally got around to scanning in the newspaper article from the Sunday Tribune about my post on RTÉ editing Wikipedia.

* Not going to use them as the first post each month, coz then this would be a page of links and boring!

flickr goodies

Today Flickr released two new things!

First is their new Uploadr application. Nice design and finally allowing you to edit titles and descriptions before you upload!

The second new feature (for pro accounts only) is Stats (finally)!

Be enthralled by graphs and chats!
Learn which of your photos are popular today, this week, or over all time
Discover where your visitors are coming from
See how they found you
Thrill at a helpful breakdown of your photos.

Apparently it takes a little while to dig up the numbers for my account, so I have to check back tomorrow and things should be ready then!

free tripit tshirt

I got an email today from Tripit!

Since words cannot express our full gratitude for all your support and feedback, we're offering the early beta testers of TripIt a free TripIt T-Shirt...sure to be a collector's item.

Yay me!

sweden

I've been here in Sweden almost 3 weeks now. I'm having a great time!

My first impression of Sweden looking from the plane is that it is very green and full of forests! It puts Ireland to shame considering were billed as the emerald isle. Still tho there is a vast amount of open space and unpopulated areas. You can see when I put Ireland on a map next to Sweden. It is quite a big place!

The Swedish people like one thing as far as I can see and that is the Eurovision! They sing songs from previous years and are surprised when I am unfamiliar with what they are singing. Yet they couldn't recall last years Irish Entry, but i doubt many Irish people could. (It was Brian Kennedy - Every Song Is A Cry For Love for those of you about to fire off a Google Search) I even experienced a SwedishSingStar night!

Their licence plates on their cars are a load of TLA's. (All you business students will know what i mean!) So that keeps me amused also seeing POO on a car is quite amusing... I wonder if they paid extra for that?

In Sweden (the land of the mid-night sun) they celebrate Mid-Summers. You know, the longest day of the year. I headed up north to Rättvik where We celebrated the longest day by Decorating the May-Pole and then Dancing around it singing songs like some kinda cult. I was assured that it wasn't a cult afterwards, as it was traditional Swedish custom. They are a funny nation. Photos on Flickr!

I also went on a visit to Stockholm. Stayed at the Backpackers Inn (twitter review) and met up with Lovisa for a mini reunion! We saw the changing of the guards (12noon Saturdays and Wednesdays and 13:00 on Sundays!) as well seeing Old town which was really old. The Treasury and the City Hall. Again, Photos on Flickr!

One of the most interesting places was the Vasa Museum:

The Vasa is the world’s only surviving 17th-century ship and one of the foremost tourist sights in the world.

I didn't get to Skansen due to the weather. It was really shite, really Irish. There was a break in the weather for a few hours the first evening, and the city looked quite nice and amazing in the sun! So more of an excuse to go back and visit.

I also succeeded in my mission to visit and IKEA! Not to bad for my first visit IKEA (Yes, you have to type it as tho you were shouting it each time.... IKEA!!!!) being a Swedish IKEA!



So far the only down side to the trip is the weather. Global warming is really kicking me in the ass since it dealt me a lovely and snowy winter! There has been only a small few days I can say were Summer days; wake up and it is warm and sunny and stays that way till night. Instead it has been like the successful Scottish pop band of the 80's, 90's and noughties, Wet Wet Wet.

Overall it has been great! :-D

employee of the year

The Whistler Chamber and American Express thanks all Whistlers Star Employees for their outstanding work for the season and invite them to a Service Recognition Awards Night with Dinner, Prizes, Awards and an After Party!
I got nominated as Employee of the Year for Rogers Chocolates (Whistler)! This is what they had to say:

Darran has remarkable ability to put in just a little extra for each and every customer, each and every time. He is also really SMART! He is willing to work extra shifts -even on a powder day. He sees what needs to be done and does it efficiently and with a smile. His warmth and patience with customers is beyond compare.

As part of the award I got a letter as well as a really nice photo frame of Blackcomb Glacier. It is a great photo because you can make out all the areas and shoots I go playing on on the glacier! I also won $100 worth of gift certificates to the Longhorn!

There was also free caricatures from Cruelty Free Cartoons! I let him flex his muscles and do whatever he feels, only telling him I work in a Chocolate Shop! Here is the final result:

He spelt my name wrong, but I still plugged his website! Aren't I a nice guy!?

sushi village

I had Sushi for the first time ever last night. We have been putting it off for a while now, but considering there are a few sushi restaurants here in Whistler, we couldn't put off going out for some any longer.

We headed in to the Sushi Village, in the Village (funnily enough), where we tried to make out what is nicest and what we should try. Of course we didn't have a clue, so we just got come combinations.

For starters:

• Sweet Potato Tempura - サツマイモの天ぷら

This was basically sweet potato, that kinda looked like deep fried hash browns. It was alright, it gave up some practice with using our chopsticks to get ready for the main course. Which was a selection of:

• Tekka-Maki - 鉄火巻き - Fresh tuna wrapped in the center
• Kappa-Maki - かっぱ巻き - Sliced cucumber in the center
• Salmon-Maki - サーモン巻き - Fresh salmon in the center
• Spicy B.B.Q. Salmon Roll - スパイシー バーベキュー サーモン 巻き - B.B.Q Salmon, avocado
• Spicy Scallop Roll - スパイシー 帆立巻き - Scallop, Cucumber
• Spicy Tuna Roll - スパイシー 鉄火巻き - Tuna, cucumber, radish

They were all covered in rice and then what were guessing is sea-weed type thing to hold it all together, or else the sea-weed thing and rice on the outside! We were not too fond of the Tuna or Scallop, altho the Spicy Tuna Roll was quite nice.

There was about 12 little pieces of sushi each, and it was quite filling. That also might be the fact this was our first time trying it, so we got full on raw fish pretty fast! One pointer is the small bit of green stuff you get on the side of your dish, my suggestion is, try a tiny bit and then just don't touch it. It's Wasabi and its the worst substance known to man.

Overall, it was a great night. You'd need to be in the mood for sushi, but it very different, but defiantly worth a go!

P.S. Do ya like the way I put in some Japanese into this post! Hopefully it might be noticed! Hello all my Japanese readers :-)

wii'ing

So we have had the Wii for the last 2 weeks, and it's Brilliant! Here is a photo of Taidy getting really really excited about getting his own Nunchuk and Wiimote!We have a total of 90 Mii's, who take many forms from Friends at home to Famous people and complete members of bands! A detailed list will be posted here when I'm in the mood!

The best game by far is Wii Sports! The free game that comes with it. I'm a Professional in Tennis and Bowling and on my there with Golf and Baseball. Boxing is just too energetic for me so it will be the last one I go for!

Every night at mid-night we do out fitness, where we are given 3 random training levels and have to do out best at them. Then the Wii calculates our age! I've been between 22 and 35 mostly!

The other games we have are Red Steel and Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz. Haven't really gotten into them yet, as most of our time is spent getting out skill level up on Wii Sports!

If you have a Wii and would like to see some of our Mii's, our console address is: 6429936395951829 or send an email to our console at w6429936395951829[at]wii.com

twitter

I signed up to Twitter yesterday. Basically it's:

A global community of friends and strangers answering one simple question:
What are you doing?

You can answer this question and keep everyone who is a friend up to date with what you are doing at once. Sign up and let me know what you are doing, or check out what I'm currently doing: twitter.com/darran

There is a nice little bit of code as well that I added to my blog that tells you what I'm currently doing.

extras

The new series of Extras by Ricky Gervais is up and running for the last few weeks, but its the theme song at the end of the show that got me searching the internet. Mind you it didn't take too long to find the answer, it took a bit to find the actual song!

Cat Stevens - Tea for the Tillerman

Bring tea for the Tillerman
Steak for the son
Wine for the women who made the rain come
Seagulls sing your hearts away
'Cause while the sinners sin, the children play

Oh Lord how they play and play
For that happy day, for that happy day

deirdre o'kane

Saw her last night in the Cork Opera House. I'm no reviewer or expert on writing the perfect article on her, but i can search the Internet and bring you an overview of the show:

Funny and feisty, warm and down to earth, she chatters on engagingly for an hour of babies and how they affect your flirting; the terrible service you get in Ireland; an increasingly mad tale of having her car clamped; insomnia and nursery rhymes.

Added to this there is O'Kane's rich fantasy life, in which she shops at Argos with Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta Jones, chats baby names with Victoria Beckham and frets about the wellbeing of Katie Holmes. O'Kane is wonderfully comfortable on the stage and with her audience.

via Edinburgh Festivals

Now i thought she she did go on for a bit about babies, pregnancy and more babies. Fair enough she just had her own child (and another on the way?) so she had a lot to say on that subject. That went down a treat with all the women in the room, but after the first 30 minutes i thought it was time to move on!

It was my first comedy show as such and i did get a good laugh out of her. Andrew Stanley was on before her and he was really good. Lots of audience interaction and some great jokes! Maybe he was more along the lines of my taste.

orkut

I finally got my foot into orkut!

Designed to help users meet new friends and maintain existing relationships! I needed an Invite and in all fairness, it only took me a few hours of searching to get an Invitation! It was always on my to-do list but no one I knew was a member. And from looking at the website, its like a secret group of honored people get invited! Now that I'm in it isn't like that at all! Its full of Brazilians as well...

If you want an invite, send me a email and I will be more than happy to invite you!

UPDATE: Forgot to say, if your a member of orkut, add me to your friends!! Awh go on!

desktop

DesktopEarth is a class little program that you can use as your desktop wallpaper.

Day and night is accurately represented depending on the Sun's overhead position (which depends on both the time of day and the day of the year) and both the snow cover and the foliage changes with the seasons.

Holding Pattern is another class program that you can use as your screensaver! I am fed up at looking at the slideshow as mine so i found this! Its turns your screen into an airplane window, complete with a moving aerial view! Can you loose? I think not!

ringo

I've spend the last week and this weekend putting a load of photos onto Ringo. I've tried a few other online photo sharing and hosting services like Flickr and the likes. Flickr is great, but has a upload limit for each month, and doesn't allow you to group photos into sets or albums. Well it does but your only allowed 3 sets. I like the way Flickr's Tags work tho.

There is a lot I like about Ringo as well. It it more friends based, allowing you to see and view friends a lot easier than Flickr, as well as their updates! And it has no upload limit, only 30 pictures at a time, but you can get over that!

So if your my friend and you wanna see my photos! Join me on Ringo! And as the Website says:
It's surprisingly easy and useful!

• So there! - Link

powertoys

Microsoft PowerToys for Windows XP!

These are quite amazing and a real secret! Some of the ones I'm using at the moment are: ClearType Tuner, Alt-Tab Replacement and Tweak UI!

• ClearType Tuner is excellent, and it has got to be seen to be believed. Everything is so much crisper and clearer, its as if everything has been polished!
• Alt-Tab Replacement is a nice neat trick, especially if you like switching windows using Alt-Tab! It gives you a little preview of what each window open looks like!
• Tweak UI is simply brilliant. You can change soo much about the windows interface. There is so much to explore with it!

As it says at the start, you need Windows XP to use these toys! Try them out, there is loads other!

My Blog looks so much nicer with the ClearType :o)

post secret

http://postsecret.blogspot.com/

A nice website a came across that makes you think. Some of the secrets are very humourous and some bring you back down to earth. These are real secrets that people share.

I'm sure i'd have a few postcards that i could send in...