Sunday 30 March 2008

The polictially correct liturgical rite for Twitnotes Installation

Gentle reader, in this modern world permissive world of "Open Software" and "Free Programs"
there may be those of you who feel that they need to have a more blessed relationship
with your software. You may feel that the introduction of the disgustingly "Quick" Widget is the final straw! Well help is at hand :-) what follows is the correct liturgy for the installation of Twitnotes so those of you that have held back for fear of tainting your registry or command library with sanctified software....

Dearly Beloved,
we are gathered together here in the sight of the creator Mikkel Heisterberg
– and in the
face of this RSS feed – to join together this user interface and this widget in symbiotic
union, which is commended to be installable on all operating systems and therefore – is not
by any user – to be installed lightly – but solemnly and after any necessary backups. Into this application catalogue these two programs present now come to be composited one into the other. If any person here present can show just cause why they may not be installed in the same logical partition – let them set a breakpoint now or forever step over this instruction.

Installation is the union of widget and interface by bytecode, dll and XML. It is intended for their mutual benefit – and for the provision of Tweetability to all that look upon them. But more importantly – it is a means through which a stable and crash-free environment for tweeting may be attained.

Through installation, TwitNotes and Lotus Notes shall forever make a pact together to face their undocumented features – embrace their network latency – realize their initial specification – and accept each other’s fatal exceptions. TwitNotes and Lotus Notes will promise one another to aspire to these ideals for as long as their present versions shalt endure – through mutual XML – openness – and by listening to each of their program stacks and to all the suggestions on Ideajam.

We are here today – before
Mikkel Heisterberg – because clean installation is one of his most fervent wishes – to witness the joining in composited-oneness of TwitNotes and Lotus. This occasion marks the celebration of compatibility and optimization of code with which this widget and this UI begin their life together

Please access the Widget Catalogue in a the approved fashion.

This is a beginning and a continuation of their development path. With proper installation comes the affirmation of each one’s own compatibility and plans for further development, With respect for individual memory stacks comes the freedom to execute unconditionally. Within the sanctified cache of a RAM relationship – the bytes stream between one to one another becomes the fertile soil for user satisfaction. With care and adherence to the acceptable usage policy comes the potential for full and happy ROI.

Do you Lotus Notes take TwitNotes to be your Tweet Interface – to run together after Mikkel's project specification – in the geeky state of installation?
Will you allow her sufficient memory, processor cycles and priority in debug dump and in normal operation so she has a safe environment to execute according to her designer's specification
until OS failure do you part?

Do you TwitNotes take Lotus Notes to be your UI – to run together after Mikkel's project specification – in the geeky estate of installation? Will you run, honor the memory pool, in debug dump and in normal operation to provide timely updates to the Tweet Stream until OS failure do you part?

Exchange of XML

I now pronouce you Widget and Interface.

What – therefore – Mikkel has joined together – let no incompatibility pull asunder.

And so, by the power vested in me by the web site of Vowe, I now pronounce you UI and Widget – and may your days be good and long on this OS.

You may now tweet at will.

Recent Audio Pleasures - A personal View #1

It has been a busy month for my iPlod. There have been quite a few new albums (do we still have albums?) from artists I like and a couple of artists I have discovered. So, like Duffbert does with books here is what I am listening to at the minute.

Artist : Counting Crows
Album: Saturday Nite Sunday Mornings
Year: 2008

My Rating: 9/10

Now it may not be all that fashionable to like erudite Californian band, The Counting Crows there appear to be a lot of people who dismiss them with "oh him with the funny hair" yet last week they were the #1 download on Amazon and iToonies and I was one of those downloaders. I was not disappointed.

This is the long awaited (well by me any way) follow up to 2002's "Hard Candy" and is an album of all new material. The album's tracks fall into 2 parts. The Saturday Night tracks mark the return of Gil Norton (Pixies, Foo Fighters) as producer and reprises their more rocky sound.
The Sunday Morning tracks are more acoustic and were produced by Brian Deck (Modest Mouse, Josh Ritter).

If you like The Counting Crows you will not be disappointed by this album :-) If you haven't yet given them a listen I suggest you give them 10 minutes. I think you will not be disappointed.

Artist : Mike Oldfield
Album: Music of the Spheres
Year: 2008
My Rating: 8/10

It really doesn't seem that long since I was in my bedroom listening to Tubular Bells whilst discussing Kierkegaard's pseudo-dialectic of the aesthetic and the ethical (honestly we never ever discussed young ladies or their breasts!) or the relative merits of Triumph vs. Norton motorcycles with my teenage chums. But it was 1973! 1973!!!!!!! God almighty am I that old?
From the man himself on the sleeve notes

..in this world, everything has a pulse or a vibration. This sound is unique to each living or non living thing and in itself creates a music that no-one can hear. I believe that this has a very powerful resonance with, and a deep effect, on our lives. What would happen if we took this further and apply this to bigger things , more powerful things ; like an entire solar system or galaxy say, what would that sound like?

Musica Universalis is the ancient theory that every celestial body, the sun, the moon and the stars has an inner music. This is a harmonic and mathematical concept derived from the movements of the planets in the solar system. The music created is inaudible to the human ear.

Music of the Spheres is my interpretation of this theory. Every planet and every star; even the whole universe has music within it that no-one can hear, this is what it would sound like if it was set free. This is Music of the Spheres.

Really that says it all ... a very pleasant listening experience, I can see it being listened to a lot on the balcony of the hotel room on the island of Alonissos when I am watching the sun set over the Mediterranean.

Oooh nearly forgot you get classical conductor/composer Karl Jenkins and the Sinfonia Sfera Orchestra, classical vocalist Hayley Westenra and acclaimed pianist Lang Lang.

Artist : Michael Franti & Spearhead
Album: Yell Fire!
Year: 2006
My Rating: 9/10

I am not a naturally big fan of reggae. I like Marley and Aswad, but I have never explored that particular music genre in any depth. However a totally chance encounter with a Spearhead song on a Internet radio site (Thanks jonvon it was heard when looking for the irish track you wanted more info on). The track was " I Know I'm Not Alone" from the album above and I was entranced by both the lyrics and the music. Got the album on Friday evening... today the tracks "I know i'm not alone" and "Yell fire!" had been played 22 and 31 times respectively.

Hard to stick in a pigeon hole .. but the intro of "i know Im not alone" harks back to early U2 but then we get the lyrics sung by a voice like Robbie Robertson (of The Band) .. AND we don't have to put up with that sanctimonious string of weak pish that is Bono.

Artist : Scouting for Girls
Album: Scouting for Girls
Year: 2007
My Rating: 8/10


Apart from being FAR to young, this bunch of Londoners make a very pleasant noise. Pure unadulerated pop and none the worse for that. The entire album is packed with songs with superbly uncontrived pop "hooks" like Elvis aint Dead or It's not about you . It just goes to prove that there is still an audience for decent pop music ... especially pop that includes lines like
She's flirty just turned thirty
Ain't that the age a girl gets really dirty?

Have a listen and annoy your mid-teen children by liking them.

Web of Deception, Chapter 7 - Raising Ragnarok, the birth of dragons, zombies and papaya favoured contraceptives




NOTE: This is a continuation of the "Web Of Deception" round-robin story. If you're late to the party, please start with Chapter 1 on Ben's site and go from there. You can also follow the RSS feed hosted at http://www.andthentheboilerburst.com/WebOfDeception.rss.

4.5 Billion years BCE - Space

Raw elemental matter boils in the void, joined together and then pulled apart by the gravitational tides of a hot proto-sun. A shape forms, wriggles and breaks free of the chaos. Spreading mighty wings it absorbs both the darkness of the void and the fires that gave it birth. The dragon launches itself into the roaring maelstrom and circles the center on owl-silent wings of darkness.

965 CE - Vinland (modern Newfoundland)

Freydis Eiríkdóttir watched the thick Atlantic fog roll towards the cliff she was currently trapped on. She held a dark rock tightly in her left hand and a bloodied sword in the right. Bright red iron-sharp blood dripped from her nose to the sparse grass at her feet. A stag watched her warily from the thicket behind her.

A year ago all she had wanted was a share in the prestige and the wealth that the expeditions to Vinland had brought her father and uncle. It would be easy, a year or so, and she could return to Iceland a heroine and be able to wear the name she shared with the Vanir goddess with pride. She was learning to her cost that where gods are concerned, life is never that simple.

The night before her long ships left the safety of the Icelandic Hvalfjordur harbour she was visited by a vision and given a quest. Freydis must locate the egg of the dragon Nithhogr, the bringer of death, created by chaos to balance all that is alive. Freyja warned Freydis that if she did not succeed and the egg fell into the hands of any god from the house of Aesgard, or the giant demi-god Loki, the egg could be used to skew the balance between life and death thus bring about Ragnarök, the final battle were all would be destroyed.

The egg had not been hard to locate. The indigenous people of Vinland, the savage Skrælingjar, had found it centuries before under the ice of the Helmsfjord glacier. Such was the malevolent reputation of the egg amongst the Skrælingjar it needed no guard nor lock to protect it. It was the work of seconds for Freydis to enter the sacred long house in the depths of night and take the stone like egg from the ancient wooden case and it's blanket of coarse jet black material.

From the moment her fingers touched the night-dark surface things had gone wrong. Betrayal, bad luck and death plagued her every step. Now 8 days after that simple act of larceny she was on a cliff edge, all her warriors dead, all her ships burnt and cornered by 200 silently furious Skrælingjar warriors. She knelt, resting her head on the hilt of her sword, and prayed to Freyja for forgiveness at failing in her task and asking for whatever protection the goddess could offer in this distant barbarian land. Religious observance complete she wrapped the egg in deerskin and slipped it deep into a rabbit hole.

Standing, she drew a deep breath then ripped her shirt open and with a small skinning knife carved the first rune of Freyja's name into the soft white skin of her right breast. With a resolution she did not feel, she raised her sword and marched slowly through the trees towards the Skrælingjar warriors that were searching the valley that led up to the cliff. She looked deep inside herself and found her wolf, asking for and permitting the animal spirit to fill her. The last remnants of the human Freydis disappeared as the berserker she had become emerged from the tree line into the hail of Skrælingjar arrows.

Freydis's eyes opened, the berserker rage had passed leaving only a stillness with no pain. Looking to the east she saw the silhouette of the stag standing at the edge of the trees.The outline shimmered and slowly morphed into a tall human figure in whose right hand was a deerskin parcel. As the last of her life slipped away, Freydis Eiríkdóttir thought "Odin's Bollocks! ... Loki has the egg!"

The Present Day
Tom Dufay was nearly finished his stock take. He was counting the prophylactics on display beside the cash register, his stock report in one hand and a pen in the other. He spoke quietly to himself as he counted the bright colored foil packets.

"only 5 Extra large Trojans, I will need to order more of those ... ", a box on the stock report was ticked.

"10 Extra ribbed Papaya flavored", the report was ticked again.

" .. 8,9,10,11,12 .... oh " Tom stopped, unable to continue. His was a rare sub-variant of triskaidekaphobia that only ever caused him problems when counting contraceptives*

He scurried to the store. Stepped over the corpse of Rudolph Hodges who had slid down the wall and was lying stiffly on the floor. Tom muttered dryly to himself "all I need is Gill Grissom and
some white chalk and my shop could be on CSI" He located the correct shelf and opened a box of Budweiser Flavored Hooter's Specials, took 4 and returned to the shop front.

"...8,9.10.11.12,12a,14,15,16,17".. smiling, he ticked the required box.

Satisfied that his shop was just as he wanted it, Tom emptied the till and placed the day's takings in his safe. Pausing for a moment he glanced at the immobile corpse of Rudolph, pursed his lips deep in thought and reached into the safe and slipped a weighty old wooden box in into a sports bag.. As he put on his coat he spoke to Rudolph.

"I am going to leave the back door open. Leave by that in ", he checked his watch " 30 minutes. It will be dark by then"

The corpse rustled it's understanding like dry cemetery leaves, but said nothing.

Tom left the shop and walked slowly down Main Street a smile played across his face "Soon ..." he said to himself "...soon it will all come together ..."

Back at the farmhouse , Mike came to with a start. His brain polled various bits of his anatomy, everything was there. Slowly he opened his eyes........

* Footnotes *
Tom's phobia arose after an unfortunate accident with a sheep, a squad of 13 cheerleaders, on Friday
the 13th, in Dorm room 13 on the 13th floor of the 13th Earl of Aberdeen's hall of residence,
Glasgow University, Scotland and it had left an indelible scar on Tom's psyche. The sheep
however fully recovered and went on to have a successful career as the Conservative
Party Secretary in Troon.


** Update **
Chapter 8 Fell i sno available here on the blog of "Wild" Bill Buchan who has managed to get the word hegemony into his creative musings.

Saturday 29 March 2008

Giving ASW a bit of a stroke.

Was that title ASW enuff I wonder?

Being a relatively neophytic blogger I have only just found out what an ASW is. Although, it seems, there is some debate about the "W". The underlying throb of self-gratification that the ASWer feels does push me to the "anker" rather than "hore" side of the debate. Added to this the unlikeliness of the existence of a sufferer of Portnoy's Complaint being given the suffix of "..with a heart of gold" convinces me all the moreof the veracity of the "beating the bishop" argument.

Having scouring the the learned posts on ASW done in this arena by my betters, I took details of this worrying syndrome (and the slightly more worrying "ASW by proxy" as demonstrated today by Volker on Ben) and presented them to GIMBO (Grumpy Irish Middleaged Boozers Organisation) down at the Friday night caucus in the Harbour Bar Portrush. We had these insights, which I will share with you like it or not.

1. Dealing with the desire to indulge in ASWing
Ask yourself do you really want to post. It is true that most ASW sufferers have one good post in them but in general that is exactly where that post should stay. If you find yourself with a deep and burning desire to express yourself creatively this is probably ASW, don't listen to that silky voice! Have a nice cup of tea and some toast and allow the desire to dissipate naturally.

2. If you can't help it... remember the words of Groucho Marx ... "an amateur thinks it is funny to dress a man as an old lady, put them in a wheelchair and push them downhill towards a stone wall. For a professional it HAS to be a REAL old lady" ... so if you are going to do it ... do it well!

3. Doing it well.. remember that your wonder-code it not merely just happen, it "... came to you howling in it's throbingly bestial beauty in an orgiastic splatter of sheer brilliance... " if you are going to pull your own todger it is best to do it with style.

4. Get as many sexual innuendos in as possible, the punters love it! Where possible sprinkle these in your post ... pulsating keyboards, steaming trousers, quivering mice, tumescent debuggers, proudly pert keyboard nipples and my favorite ... a swirling ectoplasm of anguished breakpoints.

5. Handling the comments... being an out and proud ASWer will have its drawbacks .. unhelpful comments from an ignorant and uncaring public will being main amongst them. These take all the fun and ... tumescence ... out of your efforts, so get your own back ... one of my favourites is "listen mate i would love to help you out, ....which way did you come in?"

So in conclusion words of G.B.Shaw should ring loud and clear in all our ears.

"Physically there is nothing to distinguish internet society from the farm yard except that bloggers are more troublesome and costly than the chickens"

Thursday 27 March 2008

The never ending Web page like Gmail's on domino, is it feasible?

Today I have been thinking about SJAX (I think it should be more corretly PSJAX Pseudo Synchonous JAX) and methods that would allow me to keep the connection open to a client from the server.

I was asked about the feasibility of creating a real time trading room where Ebay Type bidding takes place, but in real time. Bidding rooms last no longer than an hour multiple supplier attendee's each able to see the requirements but not their competitors bids. Where like betting in poker the "current bidder" is passed between the participants.

My intial reaction was to think Java Applet .. then a couple of seconds later an AJAX pages with a timer that polled the server every couple of seconds.. and then what about the never ending web page senario I read about in connection with gmail.

My idea goes along these lines.. (I am sure there is a flashy geeky name for this .. apologies i have no idea what it is)

01. Client logs on to server
02. Client enters bidding "room" by using the normal AJAX method of calling a web agent
03. The agent (one per client) runs and creates Send 99% of the HTML,CSS,JS for the ROOM
04. Then it goes into a loop without closing the connection
while
{
reads "room control" file
is there a response for this client
YES - Send response in an script envelope like this [script]do([actionkey],[actiondata])[/script]
wait for n seconds
}

04. On the client.. I think this is what GMAIL does .. I have a JS function called do() that processes the data as it comes down and does whatever it needs to do based on the key.

05. The client sends data up stream not to this agent but another normal AJAX agent. That agent processes the data and closes with a nominal response BUT updates the ROOM CONTROL file accordingly so that the user gets the response as a DO() command.
this would be how the agent would terminate normally when the client sends a CLOSE request

Now I havent had a go at doing this yet, i will prob have a bash this weekend and see at least if it works. But if any of you have done anything similar I would appreciate your feedback, esp on the admin front. Having long running agents is not a problem for me as a DEV as an ADMIN it makes me nervous, very very nervous.

Steve

Particls just gave me the shock of the week - Sharepoint has become the new Lotus Notes

When particils popped up this SharePoint Has Become the New Lotus Notes According to New CMS Watch Research it did come as a bit of a surprise

I am not sure i agree totally with the article esp when it says

...Like Notes in a previous decade, IT often embraces SharePoint as a simple answer to myriad business information problems. But the platform can easily morph into a technical and operational morass, as repositories proliferate, and IT comes to recognize that various custom applications require highly specialized expertise to keep running properly...

But I am probably reacting the to the "morass" by thinking I do not work in a "morass" how dare they! and when followed up by...

The SharePoint Report 2008 concludes by advising customers to establish clear boundaries on SharePoint services, to keep it from becoming their new Notes ' the platform that everyone loved, but then loved to avoid.

Made me think £^%"ing *&"£ of a $&*^"£'s &*^*&ers! and go into full blooded notes beserker mode. However given the heat of similar topics of the past few days I think I will just take the article under advisement and say that Yes that is indeed true for Notes Environments as well. We do have to define boundaries the reason things get out of hand is generally poor or inadequate planning at the start of a project. Given that reason I suppose that it is neither SP or Notes's fault, the software does what it says on the tin, to paraphrase Philip Larkin.
"They can F**K you up , your user community"

The "My Album Cover" meme

I have been following the "My Album Cover" meme that was doing the rounds a few months ago, and it occurred to me that there must be some truly weird but REAL album covers out there and yes true enuff there are .. here are just a couple I have found.
The rather cheerily titled Freddie Gage Opus, the first in the "It is perfectly OK to wear white socks and shoes" 6 record Box Set.


And the unforgettable classic now digitally remastered and reissued as "want a sweetie little boy?"

Wednesday 26 March 2008

ILUG 08 a guide to Irish Idiom for our non-irish guests Part 7a

So, you have been keeping up date with this series? I do hope so as it is time for the mid-term pop-tests.

QuestionAnswer
Sot innit?It is hot is it not?
Gayusyonyoke!Give that thing to me at once!
SMTP451...SumthinsupperSMTP451...Something is amiss here
EesferaffHe is about to leave
Arrufaretheday?Are you well today?
Nathan Shudurbake!Nathan Please be Quiet!
Volkler surwazheno?Volker, what does he know?
Ben L sez Dussen Maar!Ben L sayes it really doesn't matter
SnoteaindapotThat is is not tea in the pot
Steve, Henose nathinSteve I am very dissmissive of his grasp of the facts
Hesgorr Quickr!JammygitHe has got QuickR! Lucky person
Yousensgerrinany?Is you private life replete with cuddles from your partner


OK change your answer sheet with the person on the left..Highlight the table and review your answers.
Steve

Boring TeleSales Calls

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.........
[jump] oops sorry had dozed off there due to today being the day the united covens of IT-tele-sales people of the UK get together for the Bore-a-geek-a-thon. I have just had my 5th "Hello Mr Mc [pause] ..errr....[pause] Dough-a-nag [cough] would you have a few minutes?..."

My natural reaction is "No f**k off and die you unnatural spawn of an aardvark and a giraffe" (which is very unnatural indeed given the height difference) but my natural good nature and a life time of having good manners beat into me with the "polite stick" and visits to the "calm-retrospective-analysis-of-my-behavior-corner", takes over and I give them 5 minutes to sell me the latest wonderwidgetydoobrythingumygig.

Generally these conversations end with the question "..can I send you an email with all our details?" Usually I say "no thank you i am not interested" and hang up. Today for some reason I decided that I would give them my email, well not my email ... an email. So my new professional address is mcdonaghs@dotdotdotdotdot.dotdotdotdotdot.com

I told him we were the people who put the perforations into rolls of toilet paper ... hence the company name. He, bless his specially reinforced cotton gusseted underpants , believed me and tried to get it written down.. "which dots are dots and which are dots" was mentioned several times. So I told him the sixth and the twelfth dots are dots whilst the other dots are just dots. It took all of 10 minutes for him to suss out I was taking the piss, unlike the rest of my office who were listening in, the call being on speaker phone..... Sadly this chap was not blessed with the wit god gave limpets.

I do hope he made a sale today :)

Volker vs Nathan - The Google Grudge Match


Thanks to Paul Mooney's post here (so it is all his fault)

I really really really couldn't resist it so having pondered about it for all of 5 seconds ... I did a GoogleFight over the two protagonists currently squaring up in the Blogsphere..

I know .. I know.. it doesn't really help one way or t'other and is all fairly meaningless.

Steve

Monday 24 March 2008

Just Released - the rush for Rob Novak's Free Beer and Code Session @ ILUG 07

Just released.. the rush for good seats at ILUG07's last session Rob Novak's "Free Code and Beer". You can clearly see Paul Mooney and Bill Buchan in poll position (bill is on the right) You can actually hear a cry of "gerrrrroutothewayfirmcummingthru"! The chap who takes the lead is an unknown Lotusscript developer from Northern Irish Rider keen to get the free booze.

Actually this the wonder that is the NW200 road race for motorcycles that happens in Ireland in May every year, 150-200K biker type people from all over the world invade my home town and watch folk like this go very very very fast (200+ mph) on ordinary roads (they are closed to traffic) ... It is fantastic! Drop me a line if you ever want to come and watch :)

Steve

Web of deception update - Norse Gods !

The serially authored serial moves on a pace with the addition of Libby's chapter.

We are introduced to a whole new direction .... but you really need to read it yourself ... :) ...
so I won't link to the chapter here, but there is a link to the story's RSS feed so you can read the whole story in sequence here

The story now moves on to John Vaughan

Steve

Converting Web Posted Data into a Notes List collection in an agent

When you use a POST (or for that matter GET) transaction directly to an agent from an AJAX connection call you generally have to do something with the data. I find that converting the arguement name value pairs into a Notes List makes life so much easier. This is how I do it,

' *****************************************
Dim ThisSession as new NotesSession
Dim ThisDoc as NotesDocument
Dim TheParms List as String
' *****************************************
Set ThisDoc = ThisSession.DocumentContext
EvalString = |@URLDecode("Domino";"|+ThisDoc.Request_Content(0)+|")|
RawParms = Evaluate(EvalString)
AmpArray = Split(RawParms(0),"&")
Forall pairs In AmpArray
EquArray = Split(pairs,"=")
TheParms(EquArray(0)) = EquArray(1)
End Forall
' *****************************************

When this code is run you have a Notes List that comprises of all the argument pairs Posted
to to the agent.

Say for example the posted data was :

type=GD&vn=wibble&qi=wobble&dt=01010111

the resultant list would be :

TheParms("type") contains GD
TheParms("vn") contains wibble
TheParms("qi") contains wobble
TheParms("dt") contains 01010111

You can then access any of the arguments passed by name.

If you want to use this with a get you can get rid of the lines

EvalString = |@URLDecode("Domino";"|+ThisDoc.Request_Content(0)+|")|
RawParms = Evaluate(EvalString)
AmpArray = Split(RawParms(0),"&")

and use the Query_String_Decoded cgi variable

AmpArray = Split(ThisDoc.Query_String_Decoded(0),"&")

However remember that unlike the POST the GET string will start with a "&" so your ForAll
will need to test for AmpArray being equal to "" to avoid the first element of the AmpArray.

Steve

Saturday 22 March 2008

Being able to see your own arse - a boon for society

Continuing the slightly "out of kilterness" of today. A link to this appeared in my in-box from a friend in Sweden. Now this is indeed a boon to society, particularly the ladies who when faced with the problem of finding out for themselves if their arses look big in what ever garment they are trying on and will usually attempt the black belt graded Tai-Chi "clematatis- winds-itself-around-the-donkey's-buttocks" manoeuver to find out if said posterior is indeed made to look larger.

This device should be a boon to any person that has ever been faced with the question... "well dear does my bottom look big in this?" whilst on (or after) a shopping trip.

In next door Finland a nameless phone giant is looking at the delay mirror with a view to installing it in their new range. This observer believes that "the take me from behind" phone
would be an instant best seller if only for the name.

The Noble Prize for instilling benefit in martial relationships is winging its way to Sweden as we speak.

The Great Illinois Corn Flake - Resolution

Gentle reader, I wanted to ease you into your Easter Saturday gently without fuss or kerfuffle. However news of great import has just broken. The Great Illinois Corn Flake has been sold!

Yes the cornflake which was withdrawn, added again and withdrawn from auction site eBay over disagreement over "no food" policy has been sold for the princely sum of $1,350 to the owner of TriviaMania.Com.

I am so relieved the issue of the food-iness of cornflakes was causing me sleepless nights and the McDonagh bedsheets were fair tangled by my tossing and turning (oh do stop giggling Nathan!)

I have great hopes for the auction of my Wheetabix with the lotus "waffle-men" apparently embossed on it.

Friday 21 March 2008

Good Friday thoughts on the evils of Laundry

This being a religious day and all that I have choosen a passage from the Psalms, 106 verse 38, to start this post.
Thus were they stained with their own works and went whoring with their own inventions

This post is dedicated to my son and all other young men about to fly the nest and make their way in the world. Draw near and hear the wise words of your elders.

As you are all well aware when you are young laundry is done by the Laundry Fairy. In Ireland this role is taken by the Laundry Leprechaun. She slips silently into your room, usually on a daily basis and replaces all your dirty clothes with clean and ironed ones. Sadly the Laundry Leprechaun, like the lovely Veronica the Tooth Fairy, does not continue this wonderful practice into adult life, mores the pity. There comes a time when when every young man has to take care of their own laundering needs.

To quote the Hitchhikers guide to the Galaxy's front page "DON'T PANIC" with a little thought this crisis can be managed.

Laundry like pasta can be tested for it's nearness to the perfect "al dente"-ness. Simply throw your intimate garments at the bedroom wall and see if they stick. However do remember that this test means that only PASTA is edible! Having scraped the garments from the wall take them straight away to the bathroom where you should throw them into the shower or bath. Scoot into the kitchen and in that cupboard under the sink you will probably find a cardboard box, check the front and confirm it is washing powder as attempting to clean clothes with dried dog or cat food is not a good idea. Although it does make your clothes quite flavoursome, I personally recommend Tuna "Go-Cat" for those evening adventures than may not have food provided.

Sprinkle some of this aromatic powder onto the clothes and turn on the hot water tap. When the water is hot enough to kill all known germs, put on your wellingtons, get into the shower and start stomping on your underfrillies. There is little point being gentle so in my experience if you imagine you are trampling grapes in a vineyard on the Cote d'azur you will get the correct cadence for sparkling undies. Also if you are a fan of Riverdance, a good 4 hand reel double tap shuffle is also excellent for removal of those extra stubborn stains.

Since you are in there, have a look around, experiment with the taps perhaps even have a wash yourself, no point in wasting the hot water given the price of electricity these days. A word of caution unless you want to end up with an alarming "dazzling blue whiteness" don't use the washing powder you used for your clothes.

Even though Sister Xavier (of the order of the sacred bleeding carrot of St Crispin) told you that anything to do with your body was a sin, the human body is nothing to be ashamed of. Make sure you wash you-know-where and while you are at it wash there and under there too...Carefully. ..both of them.

Get out of the shower at this point, get dressed and have a cuppa ... once this is complete you clothes will be nice and clean but, and remember this, THEY ARE STILL WET! Putting them on now will result in a deeply unpleasant sensation not unlike having your best friend vomit in your pockets. The easiest way to get around this is to use the dryer, most modern houses have one and thanks to the wonders of embedded technology is called "the cooker". Pop your clothes into the oven, set it to 200 C (thats 392 F for our USian readers) and leave for 10 minutes. DO NOT FORGET THEY ARE THERE!!! There is nothing quite as unpleasant as the sensation of wearing very well done underpants.

Here endeth the homily, the collection will now be received....

Thinking about Views, particularly large ones

A few weeks ago i blogged about very large datasets in views, that post came from a desire to maximize performance without usability in a web client. Nathan Freeman amongst others pointed out that very large views should really have a filtering system in both the notes client and on the web.

Thinking about this yes the notes client does make you lazy, categorized views work are easy to get around in, users are used to them and we as developers sometimes fall prone to following the path of least (in this case user) resistance.

So over the past few weeks I have been doing some head scratching about the whole UI thing. Spurred on by posts that posted this toon about design I have tried to do some paper prototypes about a new way (for me) of looking at view navigation.

Needless to say I tried to avoid thinking about coverlfow for fear of band wagon jumping .. that and I having used it on my own iPlod the novelty lasted about a week mainly caused by to many albums to be able to recognize all the covers that and i couldn't be arsed spending the time to get the album art. The more I ignored it the more I came back to variants of the same thing as a potential good idea.

This is the idea I have is something like this:
When the control is unloaded it looks like Fig 1
The user selectes "Content" or "Actions"

Clicking "Content" loads the scroll to The first Level Document types like in Figure 2. For Example approvals , requests etc

Clicking on the scroller moves thru the choices

Clicking on the picture loads the Scroller with the next level down of categorisation.

Using keys or the mouse wheel moves the user thru the levels ... no quite sure how this would work.. prob via a cache.




There would also be a breadcrumb trail below the control So the user would have a visual representation of where they were.

Keyboarders could type "App.." and the scroller would postion the flow at Approvals and you could also use <- and -> to navigate thru the options.

Clicking on Actions would do give the user a list of actions available like .. Create new .. Email to .. etc that would be used in the same way.

Below the control there would be the space where the results of the user selection would appear in table form.

I know this is do-able with a composite application. But i am thinking of doing this all in JS so that the V6 and V7 population can us it as well.

I have the cover flow bit 70% done (for the web) the resizing animations are proving awkward in JS, but i will have a play over easter and see if I can get to grips with that. I am still not sure whether this will be a runner usability wise .. there is rather a lot of clicking

If I manage to get something working i will pop it onto OpenNtf and let the world play with it

Thursday 20 March 2008

Egg packing 24 Dimensional Grocers

A chum of mine who is the uberest of ubergeeks when it comes to things mathematical phoned me last night in great excitment to tell me that the most important number in the world had just been mentioned on the radio, but not in a high brow science show.. it was mentioned in a light entertaint program For 196883 is the calling card of the "Monster Group"

In the heady word of "hard sums" there are four famous challenges, Fermat's Last Theorem, the Riemann Hypothesis, Poincare's Conjecture, and the quest for the 'Monster group' of Symmetry.

My chum had to tried to explain Monster symmetries to me before ...Think of the Monster group as a preposterous snowflake with more than 1,050 symmetries that exists in a space of 196,883 dimensions. Up until last night the only reason I remembered this wonderful factoid was that it is the best way for a 24 dimensional grocer to pack eggs.

Astonishingly, or so i am told, a deep relationship between elliptic curves, the Monster Group, and string theory Richard Borcherds from MIT has showed that the Monster is the group of symmetries of 26-dimensional strings (yes those strings...the ones in string theory) expressed in a form known as vertex algebra. It would appear that 196,883 may hold clues to the very existence of the reality in which we live so i suppose this is a good enough reason for it to be on a BBC radio 4 programme!

Astonishing :)


Wednesday 19 March 2008

Web of Deception update

Part 2 of "Web of Deception" was published today and it is shaping up at the moment to be somewhere between Dean Koontz and Stephen King. There is an undercurrent of menace wrapped in a peaceful blanket of rural American idyll. having said that there is a sexually frustrated cat being passed to Captn' Bob by the bold Julian. The reading public is holding their breath.....
On a related topic... the back-channels of this endeavour are red hot... I have 92 story related emails in my folder and let me say they are all about thematic nuances, use of metaphor and the legitimate use of slightly runny brie.

Steve

Update *** in the time it took me to update this another 6 emails have come in !
Web of Deception .. the story so far
Chapter 1 here
Chapter 2 here
RSS Feed here

Monday 17 March 2008

Web of Deceptions has started!!

The serially authored story of .. well we don't really know yet has started.. you can pick up the
RSS feed so that you can read each installment hot of the presses here . Various luminaries of the Domino world (and me) will be contributing. So come along and have a read see what sort of creative genii we are or not as the case may be... feel free to comment on any of the participating blogs :)

The participating authors are the minute are (in no particular order):-
Ben Langhinrichs
Julian Robichaux
Tom "Duffbert" Duff
Rob McDonagh
John Vaughan
Francie Whitlock
Gabriella Davis
"Wild Bill" Buchan
Steve McDonagh
Andre Guirard
Jess Stratton
Libby Ingrassia

Steve

Alien Invasion nearly spoils St.Patrick's Day Parade

*** Breaking News ***
17 March 2008 13:00 GMT
Ballygobakaways - Co.Cavan Ireland
Ballygobakaways alien invasion nearly spoils Paddy's day parade.

Inhabitants of the Co.Cavan village of Ballygobakaways awoke to a bright March
the 17th morning full of the not unrealistic expectation that the St.Paddy's day parade
would be an occasion when good fun was had by all.

Windswept but good-looking (in a rough sort of way) Félim O'Crotchity (40), organiser of the
parade was first to notice the space ship as he passed by sexy stunner Fionnuala Fitzgiblet's (25)
barn. Unfortunately he dismissed it as the float prepared by their neighbours in Sixmilehole.
Sixmilehole is the next village up the road where Fionnuala had a sister, svelte busty Siobhan (28)
who had married the postman, craggy Anal O'Forlorn (27) who was wild keen on the TV show
"Robot Wars"

The morning's preparation continued apace. Sprightly pensioner Irene O'Pleuresy (60) did a
valiant job keep Father Gonad O'Reilly (58) off the whiskey by demanding an emergency confession
that took from 9am till gone midday. The seal of the confession stops us reporting the details
but Fr.O'Reilly needed 2 cold showers and a bit of a lie down to recover.

As the parade, lead by the Ballygobakaway Young Farmers float, wound it's way down from the
parochial house on Fennian Street the crowd of onlookers was astounded to see a large silver
spaceship land at the junction of Fennian Street and Shebeen Road effectively blocking the whole
shebang from further progress.

A small door opened towards the front of the ship, a strange greenish mist billowed from the opening
An unknown wag in the crowd posited that this was "them feckin Anglicans from Derry wanting to
get in on the act" the laughter was soon silenced as a strange apparition strode out of the space
ship to stand arms akimbo in the centre of the cross roads.

"Jeeze Mary Joesph and the wee donkey too!" exclaimed gangly teen, Oisin McAcne,(18)
"weze are all for the anal probes now!" it should be pointed out that this reporter has been told
that Oisin has a wild notion for the flame haired temptress Scully from the X-Files and outbursts like
this are usually discounted as hormonal surges caused by exposure to large quantities of sheep dip.
However on this occasion the assembled villages drew a gasp and a collective buttock-clench that was done with such force you could hear the slap in Ahtlone. For it was plain to see that the alien did indeed grasp in it's 3 fingered hand something that looked very very like a large anal probe.

Sisters Concepta Unlikey and Immaculata O'Feelhim down to watch the parade from
the Shaven Sisters of Antioch convent at Muff fainted and were attended to by first-aiders
from the Order of Hibernian Gobshite Knights.

The Alien surveyed the people of Ballygobakaways and the people of Ballygobackaways
surveyed the Alien ... there was a long pregnant pause .. which ended when Sergeant O'Letsbehavinya
who had been approaching from the Garda station below, slapped a ticket on the space ship
for non-display of a valid road fund license and for parking like an eejit on a Bank Holiday Monday.

Taking the alien into custody the Sergeant was heard to say "come now ye wee slabbery shite, I've seen the movies you know! There will be no probing any of my civilians today or for that matter any day unless I'm the one doing it!".

The space ship was towed away and the parade continued without further incident.

Investigators from the Irish Fast Action Response Team (iFART) have been delayed because
there are no trains on a bank holiday but are expected to arrive this evening.

Sunday 16 March 2008

A wee story

I was thinking about the forthcoming serial story suggested by Ben Langhinrich and as I said in my previous post there is a tradition of oral storytelling in Ireland where the bare bones of the story stay the same however the method of telling changes with each storyteller that tells it. I thought i would share one of these tales with you today, it being a Sunday ;-). What follows is a tale about marriage, the importance of having a smart wife and of not picking fights with Scottish Giants.

So get yourself a cup of tea from the pot, pull up a chair and get comfy ....

Once apon a time and it was a long time ago, sure if I’d been alive then I’d not be here today, in the very North of Ireland there lived a giant of a man. Fionn Mac Cool was his name, he stood a full fifteen feet tall in his stocking soles, had arms like legs and legs like tree trunks, but most noticeable was his shock of blond hair from where he got his name Fionn, which in Old Irish means fair.

Now many are the tales of Fionn and his brave deeds with his band of warriors the Fianna. Of how he started the causeway to Scotland and other marvels we will never see the like of again. However my tale today is of the other side of this great Irish Hero, because in between his mighty deeds and heroic struggles he, like all of us, had to go home to his house and his wee wife Oonagh. Now ‘tis said the behind every great man there stands a great woman and in Fionn’s case never a truer word was spoken. Oonagh was as wise as she was beautiful and did her best to curb her husband’s enthusiasm for getting into a fight at the drop of a hat.

Fionn and Oonagh had not long been married when Fionn was out for a wee walk along the cliffs at Ballycastle and now wasn’t it the best of summer days, the sun shone in the heavens and the birds were singing and Fionn was in a very good mood. Sitting on a large boulder he looked out over the sea and savored the view.

Now at that time giants were more common than they are today and not 14 miles away on the Mull of Kintyre lived another giant called Fergus. Now this Scottish giant was a bad tempered old brute, well full of himself and he had no great love for Fionn. On this particular day Fergus was out doing his garden, planting potatoes. As he drilled the holes to put the seed potatoes in he sang a Scottish song, Fergus was many things but a good singer he was not. His voice sounded the noise a donkey makes when it is surprised by having a broom handle stuck up it's bum and as Fergus was a giant his singing was very ,very loud.

From his perch on the cliff, Fionn could hear the dreadful noise of Fergus singing drifting over the water. He plugged his fingers in his ears but this didn’t help.

‘Och for gods sake will you give over you big Scottish lassie’s blouse!’, Fionn shouted

The singing stopped, Fergus got up and looked around he could see the shape of Fionn. He shook his fist and replied, ‘Fionn Mac Cool is that you?’

‘Aye, at least your eyesight is better than your singing voice' replied Fionn dismissively, "sure your voice is awful and it is made no better by that huge wart you call a nose!"

‘.*&^%*&^%..!’ Fumed Fergus, now if truth be told he did have an incredibly ugly nose, misshapen and bent and he was very self conscious about it.

Dropping his dibble, he raced to his boat and started to row, towards Ireland intent on teaching the impudent Irish Giant a lesson he would be long in forgetting. Fionn watched and listened with interest because there is nothing like an irate Scottish giant for the learning of colorful and illustrative insults ,none of which I can repeat here, apart from mentioning that A scabby sheep’s arse, a turnip, 3 barrow loads of pig slurry and Finn's mother played a substantial role.

As the Scottish Giant got closer and Fionn got a better look at him and he noticed to his horror that Fergus was a good 3 feet taller than himself. Now don't get me wrong Fionn was no coward but he was a realist and knew that he would very likely take a beating in a stand up fight. So he nipped back home and ran into the house looking for Oonagh.

‘Oonagh’ he called ‘Oonagh dote, were in blazes are ye?’

‘Fionn what’s the matter?’ called his wife from the kitchen

‘ Och darlin’ yon blurt of a Pig’s arse Fergus is on his way over and he wants to give me a thumping for saying he couldnae sing, I don't know what to do and darlin’ its a beating I don't want to get! What’ll I do he will be on his way up from the beach ... dear heavens what will I do ?

Oonagh thought for a second and told her husband.

‘Here wrap this shawl around you and lie in that big log basket by the hearth, and give quiet!’ Oonagh then tucked him in with a blanket.

Fionn knew better than to argue and did exactly as he was told, and not a minute to soon because in through the door came Fergus all bluster and red from the row across.

‘Were is that wee slather they call Fionn Mac Cool?, he lives here I ken .......’

‘That will be enough of that!’ interrupted Oonagh ‘ I don’t know who you are but if you are looking for my husband you will at least be civil in front of his wife and child’

Fergus looked at Fionn in the log basket, ‘That Fionn’s child is it?’ He asked

‘Och a happier wee child it would be hard to find and just like his dad, aren’t you your daddy’s wee pixie?’ She tickled Fionn under the chin

Fergus raised and eyebrow, if this was Fionn’s child what size was size was his father? The first seeds of doubt flitted across his mind. Oonagh turned and continued,

‘My husband is out shifting a wee mountain over by Donegal, the king didn’t much like it so he asked Fionn to move it for him. He wont be back for while, will you wait?’

‘Aye missus if I may’ replied Fergus

‘Well if you are going to wait you might as well be useful, I’m doing the wash today and the steam in the kitchen is something fierce, could you be a gentleman and turn the house round so the kitchen door catches the breeze?, Fionn would do it ‘twere he here and I’m only a wee lassie....’

‘Bloody Hell!’ thought Fergus ‘This Fionn has a child like a full grown Charloais bull, and he moves houses for his wife.......’ but unwilling to seem weak in front of this wee woman, outside he went and rolling up his sleeves he gripped a corner of the house and heaved and hauled and puffed and panted and heaved and hauled some more, the house started to move and gradually it turned until the kitchen door faced into the breeze. When he finished, Oonagh was standing at the back door, leaning on the jamb,

‘Sure didn’t you take your time, my Fionn would have done it in half the time but then your only a wee chap, I shouldn’t have asked but you get used to a useful man around the house, my apologies Fergus’

Fergus shuddered despite himself, this Fionn was starting to worry him, already the red mist had fallen from his eyes, but he could see no way of getting away without loosing face in front of Oonagh.

‘Would you take a wee cup of tea and a scone for your trouble?’ Asked Oonagh.

‘I would.....’ Replied Fergus

‘Come on in then and Ill get you a cup’ Now Oonagh had used the time while the house was on the move to stuff an iron poker into a large currant scone, which he now offered to Fergus. ‘There you go start ,on that, they are Fionn’s favourite wee bite and the child’s too’ She handed a poker free scone to Fionn in his log basket crib, which he set to and ate in three big bites.

Fergus took a bite of his and CLANG bit into the poker, ‘Arrhgghhhump’ he said, breaking 2 front teeth. ‘Is anything the matter?’ asked Oonagh

‘grumphgagrndbbs... no..’ mumbled Fergus. He took another bite.....CLANG another 2 teeth gone. Tears ran down Fergus’s cheeks, but he looked and Fionn in the basket the large child was licking the scone crumbs from his lips, Fergus finished the scone and, this is no word of a lie, there wasn’t a tooth left in his head that wasn’t broken!

‘Missus...’ he mumbled ‘ that is some child you have, how old is he?’

‘ Oh he’s nae more than 18 months and he is a bonny child’

‘He must have some set of teeth’ Fergus said

‘ An what would you mean by that?’ asked Oonagh arms akimbo,

‘Och nothing missus nothing.... It looks like it is all I mean, I can see the white glint frae here’

‘Oh.....’ Oonagh ‘thats all right then. Aye but he does have a fine set of wee teeth, strong as strong and white as milk, here stick you finger in and feel’

Fergus got up and put his forefinger in Fionns mouth. ‘Aye they are right and sharp and thats no mistake’ said Fergus, ‘Go on feel the ones at the back they are even more impressive’ said Oonagh, Fergus stuck his finger further in.

Now as you all know Giants are only strong and big because of magic, and giant magic is all stored in the forefinger and now here was Fergus with his magic forefinger inside Fionn’s mouth.

Fionn winked at Fergus and snapping his mouth shut, bit the finger clean off with a whizz, several bangs and the sound like that of of a balloon going down, Fergus started to shrink until he disappeared down a crack in the floor.

Fionn got out of his hiding place, spat out the severed finger and hugged his wife. Accepting her husbands thanks for a second, Oonagh then proceeded to beat her husband soundly with a rolling pin for being such a daft eejit. Oonagh was never one to spoil the husband by sparing the rolling pin.

That is the story of Fionn,Oonagh and Fergus. Finn had many more adventures, as did Oonagh and they and their children, because they had many, had full and happy lives. :)

Steve

ILUG 08 a guide to Irish Idiom for our non-irish guests Part 7

If you have registered for ILUG and plan to come then it is possible that you will encounter at least one (me) if not more of the inhabitants of the northern 6 counties of Ireland. Not for us the soft brogue of the southern Irish which is probably more instantly recognizable as "Irish" for we use what is referred to as "Ulster-Scots". In fact when I travel I am more often mistaken for a Jock than I am for a Paddy. If anything we are harder to understand that the southerners, partly due to the fact that very very few tourists came to Ulster during the troubles so we only had ourselves to talk to. Even Dubliners find us hard to understand so don't feel bad if you can only pick up one word in 10 :) So here for your edification and elucidation is a short guide to some of the Ulsterish words that cause confusion , sowtizz....


Ulsterish

English

A hinney onny sex

My supply of sacks is exhausted

Anorn

Another

Asse lef?

Has he left?

Bake

Mouth as in “I’ll draw ma haud across ye bake!”

Bare Chews

A pair of shoes

Bertie

Birthday

Biusabunma

Purchase for me a bun mother

Calusatate

Call me at 8

Cowld

Cold

Chaps

Chips (Fries)

Childer

Children

Clod or Cloddin

Throw or Throwing

Cowl Swate

A cold sweat

Cryin bawkets

Inconsolable crying

Cumhereayewanya!

Would you come in NOW! (the NI mothering instinct call)

Dirt Bird

A person of poor personal hygiene

Dunt

A Bump or light thump

Deadly Crack

Considerable fun

Eejit

A pleasant fool

Fash

Fish

Fooster

To do nothing

Futter

To Fooster energetically

Gan

Going as in “Im gan hame” = I am going home

Gawn yacodya

Literally “Go on you cod you” = “are you joking?”

Greet

To cry pitifully

Gulpin

An annoying eejit

Haun

Hand

Hanneeanounce

The level of stupidity possessed by a gulpin

Haut

Hot

Heffate

Half past 8

Hellyin

Half past 1 (you get the idea)

Jinno..

Do you know …as in “jinno Ed Brill?”… Do you know Ed Brill?

Leton

Pseudo … as in “Leton Bananas” = Plastic fruit

Leararintait

Literally “leather in to it” as in do it quickly

Monmoan

I am on my own

Muchyurlukin

Literally “how much are you looking?” = How much is that

Mup

I am up, usually used in relpy to Yup?

Naawalnat!

No I will not!

Parritch

Porridge

Passion

Heavy Rain

Riz

I have got out of bed

Scar

It is a car

Sages

A long Time

Savan

Seven

Shizzent

She is not as in “Shizzent hir” = she is not here

Skite

Like a Dunt but harder

Soam

So I am, indicates resolve as in “Im gam soam” =

I am definitely leaving now

Sowtizz

So it is, usually added at the end of an observation to show the person’s shock as in “squareandeed sowtizz” can also be used in the past tense as “SoTwaz”

Sodayi

So do I as in “he likes Notes 8.0.1 sodayi”

Sporing!

It is pouring … Response to the observation of “Passion”

Sqaureandeer

That is very expensive

Starvin

Either Cold or Hunger as in “I am starving way hunger” or “I am starving way cowl”

Stakenchaps

Steak and Chips (Fries)

Steeming

Very heavy rain, one up from passion

Taste

Toast

Thowl

Put up with as in “I Thowl thon eejit” = I put up with that idiot

Till

To .. As in “am away till the shaps” = I am going to the shops

Yup?

Are you out of bed yet?

Wance

Once

Whinge

The complaining a child does before getting a skite and starting to greet

Weelgupni

We will go up now = meaning We will go to bed now

Weeshire

A small shower of rain

Saturday 15 March 2008

6 Nations over for another year - WELL DONE WALES!

So thats another 6-nations over. England, Scotland and Ireland managed another year of less than inspiring underachievment. Italy go from strength to strength and even beat Scotland in a VERY good game. AZZURI YO! France got there nose bloodied by a Wales on a roll. Amazing when you think Wales and more specifically the rugby plating part of Wales is so small compared to even Irish rugby. Well done Wales !!

Hey ho! Just the Heineken Cup and the tail end of the Magner's league to go and then the rugby-desert that is the summer Roll on next year where I have every confidence that the Irish team will actually turn up and play ;)

Steve

Web of Deception - Collaborative writing by Collaborative Professionals

I have just put my name down for Ben Langhinrich's idea Gather your wits, sharpen your pens: "Web of Deception" starts Monday. This idea which grew, according to Ben, out of a post by Rob McDonagh (no relative) here .

As a relative new comer to the Blogging arena, I don't know whether I will be selected for a chapter but I hope I am :)

There is a distinct echo in this plan to the Irish love of tales and stories. The storytellers of old (Seanachai) each had a repertoire of stories The Tain, The Children of Lír etc. These were stories that everyone knew but each storyteller brought something new to the story and in that way the story "lived" and was new at each telling. Although not really the same, each writer of a chapter in this endeavor will bring the stories that they see dancing behind the flames of an open fire and let them live in their words. For me this is a fine and noble thing both to do and be involved with, regardless of how "good" it is at the end.

I urge you to have a read at each chapter as it is published as only through being listened to (or read) can a story fulfill it's destiny! If you want to have a go add your name to the list at Ben's site at the link above. Even if you are bloggilly-challenged I will be happy and honored to publish your words here on your behalf.

Steve

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