Today I finished the work my work in the dot and now I can start enjoying the holiday to the full. Work was ok, everything went ok so nothing to write about really. I've also finished a couple of family chores so all is set for the holiday to start tomorrow.

Tomorrow we're going to host the Slovak for a week in our house. This is definitely the most anticipated event of the last 8 years, which is saying something. A 2 month house scrubbing, cleaning and refurbishment project was undertaken by dad (and to a lesser extent mum and brothers) in my absence. I dare say the house is now unrecognizable. Long stalled maintenance has been finished, loads of hoarded things have been thrown away, and new implements for her use have been purchased. Tomorrow we're going to see the final result of his labour. This is probably the first time I mentioned dad in this blog but he deserves an honourable mention considering the effort.

The blog is most probably going on break for the next week or so.

a couple of people call the call centre and start something around the lines of, "you're all impotent"

Billy Connolly:
I love the naivety of al-Qaeda. Trying to bring a religious war to Glasgow? You're 400 years too late, guys... you've not even got a football team, for Christ's sake!

do you know what the wedding souvenir was?! a copy of the bridegroom thesis ... about infections and prostate cancer

romantic entanglements are ok, it's the domestic crap after

What are log analytics exactly? They sound like some sort of Christmas thing.

I'm leaving for my September "holiday" two days earlier. I managed to combine some work I've got to do in the dot with my personal holiday. This way I'm hoping to keep my free time my own and not let work creep in as happened before. Making an extra buck doesn't hurt either.

Blog News: I've created a new section for in the inbox this week posts.

"AT DESPAIR, INC., we believe motivational products create unrealistic expectations, raising hopes only to dash them. That's why we created our soul-crushingly depressing Demotivators® designs, so you can skip the delusions that motivational products induce and head straight for the disappointments that follow!"

This link was an absolute hit at the office. Definitely the best link of the month till now. Even though it appeared in my inbox this week it was too good to leave it there till the weekend. Thanks A!

I was looking for a laptop on Dell's site and found two almost exactly specified laptops with a difference of more than 300Euros. The laptops are, the expensive Inspiron 1710, and the cheaper Vostro 1700, both of which are listed on Dell's website. The only difference between them is that the Inspiron has an Ultra Sharp 17" screen while the Vostro's 17" LCD isn't Ultra Sharp branded. Also, Vostro comes with Vista Business which according to Microsoft's website costs more than Vista Home Premium shipped with the Inspiron. Click on the images for a bigger image in each case.

Also as you can see from the next screenshot even the cost of the same battery varied from 36.30 Euros to 10 Euros.

I found the Vostro laptop after browsing the askaboutmoney forums and finding this tabulated list of Dell Prices extracted from the Dell website. (Thanks to dingding). I looked up the list of all Dell prices in this easy to compare chart and then selected the Vostro from the list. This is a classic example of the benefit accessibility to information has to help you make the right decision. All the data from both sites is in the Dell website. In the Dell website you've got to go through each and every configuration to get the price details. In the PC Pricer site the information is in an easy to read table ready to help you make the better deal.

This cat thing is becoming a bit of a paranoia. I'm seeing cats all around me from featured animals on the animal of the day site to firefox theme, to my inbox. In the last weeks there were two uncommon cats featured on the AOTD site, the Andean Mountain Cat (Leopardus jacobitus) and the Palla's cat.

Then yesterday I found this firefox theme (a way to customise the look and feel of your web browser). I think this theme is so cool that it might even appeal to non cat lovers. What's more is that it's very useable. I particularly like the cat bouncing the world globe on the top right when a page is loading.

Last but not least, extreme cat lovers might want to read this article about how researchers found that cats cannot taste sweets. Thanks to Melissa for this who sent me the link by mail ... at least somebody is reading the blog :))

I do not register your response to the below however in the meantime through the support of Mr. I, we have crystallized what are the outstanding issues with respect to the deliverables committed to in July 05.

lately I'm being so well behaved that I can go around with a webcam on my head so my mum can see what i'm up to.

what winks and fucks like a tiger (a line in Coffee - a play)

Isn't it a bit of cannibalism when a Maltese guy eats Maltesers

please excuse the surname, I thought it was lupu because of the email (somebody thought that lupu is my surname ... it's my nickname and it means wolf)

(This happened to my friend in Finland) An oldish drunken man came over to us while we were at the pub.
Man> bla bla bla whatever
We> sorry, we don't speak finnish
Man> oh …. Where am I??
We> LOL
We> Inferno
A's friend> You are in hell mate!

Just to let you know something stupid. This was the first time I logged on and you were the first person I ever contacted over the internet.

I've updated the layout of the tech section slightly. It was done in a bit of a rush because I was fed up with the old layout. I think I should do something better with the title which isn't really convincing. Any opinions / suggestions on the new layout?

Before

After

I am a cat and as yet I have no name". A perfect sentence to start the chronicle of an unwanted kitten narrating his life in the household of a Japanese teacher in the Meiji Era (early 1900’s). I am a cat by Soseki Natusme is a humorous satire on the upper middle class, academics and aesthetes. The text originally appeared as a series of 10 articles in a Japanese magazine, and the book is a collection of these articles divided in 3 parts.

The observations on humans and their peculiarities as seen by a cat make this book very humours. If you own a cat you’ll appreciate how the cat describes his superiority to mere humans. The importance of sleep, scratching, and the overall owning of the place are just some of the opinions this highly observant cat has to offer. The flowery language the cat uses in his descriptions and the archaic and bombastic tones in the conversations between people are one of the most pleasant aspects of the book.

I found the first two sections of the book to be very enjoyable, however in the last part I admit that I lost my interest and started skipping some conversations between the main characters. They seemed to become quite long winded and uninteresting towards the end as well as a bit inconclusive.

Even though the book was written in the early 1900 in Japan, and classified as literature, I found the book easy to follow and enjoyable. I highly recommend the book to any cat lover or cat owner. However if you’re totally indifferent to cats, academic snobs, and character based books I don’t think this book has much to offer for you. 4/5 stars.

I just came back from Edinburgh last weekend and as usual in these weekend breaks, I went there with very little expectations. It was the perfect time of the year to visit the Scottish capital, as August is the busiest time of the year because of the summer festival – Fringe.This is a month long festival full of events including comedy, music, theatre, shows, cinema etc. with more than 2000 performers. The streets are literally buzzing with activity, and you’re only spoilt for choice on what to do. The daily event guide was more than 36 pages long.

On Saturday we went to watch a short play, Coffee, written by James Campbell. I enjoyed it and found it very funny, probably more than the average person would have. The setting of the play was very simple. Three cheap aluminum tables and a couple of chairs to represent a café. A lone woman was sipping coffee waiting for a work appointment, when a weird guy came over and asked permission to sit near her, even though all the other tables were empty. The play was an exercise in flirting and seduction. At one point the main actor recites a pickup line that his friend taught him, which was, "what winks and fucks like a tiger?" (said while winking).

The original reason for going to Edinburgh was to watch the rugby match between Scotland and Ireland. The match was ok even though the excitement level was quite low since it was only a friendly match. MurrayField is a great stadium even though it was only a third full, which translates to about 25,000 people. The lesson learned from the rugby? Scots really wear kilts. There were an astonishing number of men wearing kilts at the match. I later learned that Scots wear kilts at weddings, and some of them cost more than £500. Each clan has its own kilt colour, so if you thought that kilts are made from excess dining cloth, reconsider!

The main attraction of Edinburgh is the castle however we didn’t visit it. J had already been there and wasn’t impressed. The rain also didn’t help motivate us to do so. Instead, on Sunday we went up to Arthur’s seat which is basically a view point from a hill. You can get a very good view of Edinburgh from here, so this photo opportunity shouldn’t be missed.

The best thing about Scottish pubs – you can get fantastic single malt whisky shots for almost the same price as a normal (blended) whisky. This makes drinking whisky a must even in the middle of summer. The ales aren’t bad either – Belhaven Best was my favourite. I also managed to taste Haggis, the traditional Scottish dish. Haggis is made from minced meat, some greenish stuff, spices and lots of pepper, all boiled in an animal’s stomach. Like most other dishes it’s usually served with some sort of potatoes. Not something I’ll eat every day, but a must try on a visit to Scotland. There are also vegetarian versions of the dish which taste very similar to the original one (according to a friend who tasted it).

I think I liked Edinburgh enough to say that I wouldn’t mind living there if I have to. The fact that there was the festival and city was very active may give a somewhat distorting impression, but at least there’s a month to look forward to, in a place where the weather is never guaranteed.

I'm adding some context information to the pearls I'm receiving by e-mail. Context information written in italics. This should help understand the reasoning behind the quotes better.

"prince charles, no, he's so dry. there's nothing juicy about him". (talking about price charles)

"today i saw the funniest thing ever. an old lady walking her tortoise - and the tortoise was really running fast."

"we need to try to work a bit on your jungle manners" (this was said to me in Edinburgh this weekend)

"jesus hide me" (when an undesired guy from the same office ask her out)

"ohhhh that car is so ugly they use it to transport handicapped people" (speaking about FIAT car aesthetics)

I'll be flying off to Edinburgh for the weekend. The highlight should be the rugby match between Ireland and Scotland. This is a test match in preparation for the Rugby World Cup in September. We'll see how it goes, and hope that the weather is fine.

"Shia Islam allows a man and woman to marry for a fixed period of time, ranging from an hour to a century." (from BBC news story). Temporary marriage as it is called is supposed to be the solution to Iran's social problems. Mmmm, ok, I'm not sure I get this. Guess you learn something everyday.

Today I received my first birthday present, 3 days in advance. It definitely helped start the day on the right foot and with a smile especially when I saw the card with the cat fish. To celebrate the postcard I've added a cats category to the blog.

Got three CDs of bands I’ve been listening to a lot recently. Pain – Dancing with the dead, Finntroll – Ur Jordens Djup and Ajattara – Tyhjyys. Great stuff and most welcoming. The Finnish theme of the bands gives off the sender doesn’t it. Thanks!

• 4 medium sized potatoes
• 1 tbsp oil
• 2 tbsp butter
• 2 tbsp milk
• Salt and Pepper
• 200g mushrooms
• 5 strips of bacons (or bacon cubes)
• cheddar cheese shavings

1. Boil the potatoes until cooked. These usually take between 30 minutes and 45 minutes depending on the size of the potatoes.
2. Slice the mushrooms into small pieces and dice the bacon.
3. Peel the potatoes and mush them adding the butter and the milk. The mush should have a consistent texture. You might be required to add some more milk and butter.
4. Add salt and pepper to the mush. Taste and add more if necessary.
5. Add the sliced mushrooms and bacon to the mix and stir.
6. Heat the oil in a pan and start adding a thin layer of the mixture.
7. Sprinkle the cheddar shavings on top of this layer and cover with the rest of the mixture.
8. Turn the omelette round carefully until browned on both sides.

• On my first try I make the omelette too tick and it was practically impossible to turn it and cook it properly on both sides. Make sure that the omelette is thin.
• If you think you don't manage to turn the omelette you can fry part of it and grill the top part. Pay attention not to burn your pan in the grill.

• Preparation time: 1 1/2hr
• Served: 2 servings
• Amount of clutter: medium (1 bowl for preparing the mush, chopping board, frying pan for cooking)

• Variant of the mush potato omelette from the good old times

It's a nice warm day and the smell of fresh grass fills your nostrils as you walk towards the car to drive to work. Your neighbor's poodle dashes from across the street and starts rolling on the ground demanding attention. You start rubbing the dogs belly and playing with him until you realize that you're already 10 minutes late and better leave for work. You leave for work with a smile.

Outside it's cold and rainy. It's July and the sun seems to have taken a vacation and went to Madeira. You walk to the car and the poodle runs from across the street splashing in the puddle next to your feet. He rolls on the ground demanding attention but instead of feeling like patting it your first instinct is to kick it away and head straight to work.

Have you ever felt like the dog in this situation? One morning you're greeted with rubs and cuddles and the next morning you do exactly the same thing and get kicked? Why do we sometimes perceive things positively, and other times we perceive the same thing negatively?

I'm calling that undefined something that alters our perception of an event the bias visor. The bias visor can be mood, state of mind, level of stress, internal turmoil, internal peace, etc. I choose the visor analogy because this mental state works like a visor. It's like a screen (visor) that alters (biases) the perception of a neutral event to make it positive or negative. Neutral events are events that aren't logically positive like winning the lottery or logically negative like the death of someone.

Interactions between lovers are probably the best way to observe what I’m talking about. Have you ever been in an argument with your sweetheart and all of a sudden behaviour that she used to like starts annoying her? For example, say you've got a peculiar way to use vocabulary to describe situations. When the bias visor is in positive mode this is seen as funny and amusing, but when the visor is in negative mode it is seen as stupid and illiterate. The action, misusing words, is the same, but the reaction is positive or negative depending on the bias of the visor.

Knowing about the existence of the bias visor gives us a way of understanding people's reactions better. I think that when the presence of a bias visor is evident, identifying the real nature of the visor gives us insight on what the real problem is. Take the previous example of the vocabulary misuse. Imagine all of a sudden your better half starts complaining about your vocabulary. Then the habit of fitting the toilet paper roll the other way round starts annoying her. Then you're scolded because you placed the toothbrush mug on the left side of the sink instead of on the right. All these events are considered generally innocuous and relatively unimportant, but if all of a sudden they start seeming important and negative it's evident that a negative bias visor is affecting the judgment of the situation. The real cause of the problem is not the action itself but something deeper.

There are a million different reasons why somebody is affected by a bias visor. I believe that there are so many possible causes that it's best not to try and guess what they are. The best way to tackle the situation is to discuss it, and ask what the problem is. This way there's a greater chance of identifying the real reason behind one's interpretation of events consequently avoiding the risk of misinterpretations and misjudgments. Sometimes however the biased person might not know what the reason is, or else the person doesn't feel like talking about it. In this case I think the best option is to let it pass gradually and give the person space and time.

What do you think about this topic? Can you add some examples of the bias visor in action? I'm sure that what I'm talking about here is something that was discussed by psychologists at some time. If anybody knows the proper terminology for what I'm talking about then I'd be very grateful for a comment.

I think I'd better start a new category called "Cat News" with all this cat news being published. Today BBC published a story about how cops are being punished in Thailand - ridiculing them by making them wear a bright pink Hello Kitty armband.

While talking about cats, I'll put up a pic of my lovable Krupel playing with my bag last Friday.

Now isn't life a bit ironic. On the same day I wrote was about Oscar, the cat of death, my grandma died. Maybe Oscar's premonition is working also over the internet. Leaving this black humour aside my father's mum last week broke her hip-bone and was operated about two days later. Unfortunately there were some complications and she died all of a sudden last Wednesday at the age of 80 (was going to be 81 in a month). My middle brother lived with grandma for the last 16 years, since her husband died.

Granny was probably one of the strongest women I’ve known. Even in her old age she was still active and sharp. Like most old people she had her fair share of troubles in life. Her daughter died at the age of 16 (she was 2 years younger than my father) and after she had to take care of my grandpa, who suffered a stroke only 3 months after the death of their daughter. It’s no coincidence that she was very practical and pragmatic paying little attention to the vanities of life. Grandma was a seamstress so whenever I remember her the first image that comes to mind is her sitting at her old Swinger sewing machine, with a piece of thread sticking out of her mouth. Rest in peace grandma!

I flew back to the dot on Thursday with the first Ryanair flight to attend the funeral on Friday. Thankfully the logistics weren't problematic and everything worked out well, apart from the price of the ticket, but I definitely did the right thing to go home. On Thursday we went to clean the grave because it was full (we don't cremate the dead here). The grave cleaning consisted in sifting the remaining bones from the rotten coffin wood and placing them in a zinc box. This was a rather macabre lesson in decomposition, anatomy and cockroaches living with the dead. Not for the faint hearted.

By now probably everybody knows about Oscar the cat, the cat able to predict deaths. If you don't check out his story here at CNN. Being the cat lover I am, the reason I haven't blogged about this before is that every other blog mentioned Oscar's story. Well now I found a good reason to blog it cause I found a hilarious post by Miss Cellania called the LOLcat of death at Mental Floss with a set of parodies on Oscar.

Some of the pictures are from the great I can has Cheezburger site. This features funny pictures of cats and adds even funnier captions to describe the picture. An absolute must for any cat lover.

Yesterday the 50+ days of consecutive rain came to an end and we saw the sun for more than an hour. For the last two months the place felt more like December than the middle of summer. Even though I got soaked several time cycling home, I much rather have this rain and cool temperature than the heatwaves that are plaguing the rest of Europe. On Saturday I went to the Bud Light Comedy Festival and one of the comedians said "now we’re not only richer than the Brits they’ve also got more rain than Ireland”.

On the travel front I haven’t done any travel out of Ireland in July. I revisited some places in Dublin, went to Dun Laoghaire market, Bray’s costal walk, theatre to watch a musical and cinema. Pretty much wintery stuff I notice. At least my bank account breathed a sigh of relief. Next week it’s a bank holiday weekend so I’ll be going to visit the Giant’s Causeway in North Ireland, the following week off to Edinburgh then at the end of August back to the dot. I had to shelf my trip to Japan this year as I’ve decided to start something I’ve been meaning to do for a long time. Read a Master’s degree.

I’ve been wanting to do some serious studying for quite some time now and at last I managed to find something I like and feel like doing. I’ve looked at a number of different course options in Dublin and finally decided to do a masters by research instead of a taught masters. This means that you’ve got a research project you work on your own instead of attending classes and sitting exams. I think this is more in line with what I want to do since it’s more hands on, and involves more research. After considering the available options in my fields of interest- Knowledge Management, Data Quality and Information Visualisation - I’ve decided to go for the Information Visualisation option. Currently I’m in the process of defining the research project I’ll be working on.

I've already voiced my opinion about eating, ranting that eating is expensive and time consuming. Yesterday I came across this article in Get Rich Slowly that attempts to propose a solution for eating.

My favourite tip is tip nr. 14, take food to work. I throw away loads of food because I'm not at home often, so things rot after a while in the fridge. On the other hand I spend half of my day at work and often finding nothing to eat in the fridge. This tip will probably help me waste less food.