The Techno Boffin Blog

George would say in his famous catchline “Gimme a break”. 

mrjasonmcgee 

Finally - the prospect of resuming my alcohol habits is sickening to me (I never thought I would think that). People who know me would be amazed. Maybe its an age thing. Maybe its a lifestyle thing. But I am quite prepared to give it another month to see how it goes ....

Ever since I was a child at the Redeemer boys school in the heart of Dundalk I knew who Ian Paisley was. It's not that I lived in a political aware household but it wouldn't have taken any kid long to figure out who "big Ian" was after the first round of songs in the playground in the 70's. I went to a working class school and came from a working class council estate where a tricolour was never far from any wall and you could haven mistaken parts of it for West Belfast if you hadn't know better. So the name Paisley was common place on the six o'clock (usually UTV) news of a night and into the 80's I heard it even more often. Imagine my suprise when he paid a visit to my home town one day in 1986 and all hell broke loose on the streets. El Paso certainly lived up to its name after Ian's departure. So today I have mixed feelings when I heard about his death. For many years I had been told to hate Paisley because he represented everything I wasn't. But when I saw Martin McGuinness say on tv today that he had "lost a friend" I have a touch of melancholy. Ian was a complex and devisive character who in the end made peace with his life long enemies. There has to be something said for that. He was a made of unflinching principles even if they didn't happen to be my principles. He made a stand. So many of us through this recession didn't make a stand ....for anything? Hospitals have been closed, public services devastated, the guilty seem to have gotten off Scott free from the whole ugly debacle. I can't help wondering today ... Of all days .... if the Irish people would have been better off with someone in the same mould as Paisley defending our rights and marching into Europe waving our flag. Is the thought of a man of principle who was unflinching and uncompromising in the pursuit of goal just exactly what we need in negotiations with Europe right now? Would the Irish people actually have loved to have Paisley of our own? Never! Never!Never .....say never?

Even if Dundalk win their appeal there will still be a fine to pay for unseated fans and flares so monies will have to come from somewhere. As long as the fans support the club by paying at the gate each week and coming in their thousands Dundalks footballing future looks bright. As for the Palesinian flags ... "They haven't gone away you know".

Actor - David Jason - "My Life" - Autobiography 

True Story - I went into my local bank branch last week and at the end of the transaction the teller said to me "oh ... by the way are you looking for a mortgage? " I said "eh what?" She replied "yes - we are giving out mortgages again so tell your friends and family". To say my flabber was ghasted is the understatement of the decade. So when did we move from recession to recovery??? We'll as my old teacher used to say "Economics is not about figures it's about confidence." Apparently confidence is back in Ireland. Just this week our bonds moved to A rating having been worth less than a Fianna Fáil promise. Ask anyone who lives in Dublin and they will confirm the anomaly of queuing for a house viewing is alive and well. House prices have jumped 30% and US companies are tripping over themselves to get their headquarters located in any part of our fair isle to tap into our talent - allegedly. The true measure of a bounced back economy is the jumbo breakfast roll. I saw a sign on the motorway today for the JBR at only €3.99 so when I next see a fleet of white "norn-iron" vans rocketing up the motorway of a morn that's when I will be saying "We're back in business". But before the Celtic Tiger roars again what have we learned? I would like to think that we will never blindly trust a government to mind our house and let financial institutions manage themselves. I would like to think that loans for off-plan housing developments in Tunisia won't be posted out along with flyers for the local Pizza. I would like to think that we will build an economy instead of placing all bets on multinational driven recovery which could run dry tomorrow if the laws change. I would to think that we have learned something .... anything ... from a decade where we lost our a generation to emigration, our middle Ireland got pulverised with a burden of debt that forced some to take their own lives or where those who should have known better could have and should have prevented it all? This time around I hope to God before we all jump on that bandwagon again we have the good sense to say "Buckle up lads - it was a hell of a ride last time".

Gaza - The Death Of Innocence - This week has seen the very worst of humanity spill out onto the web. Over 300 have been killed so far in Gaza and 290 people were on the plane that was shot down in the Ukraine. Each tragedy has has had at its core a large contingent of children. 80 children were on Malaysian flight which was shot down and almost half the population of the Gaza strip are under 14. The lowest moment (so far) was the deliberate killing of 4 Palestinian children playing football on a beach by Israeli forces - an event which is (or should be) investigated as a war crime. As I kissed my kids good night that evening I felt a deep sadness and anger that has troubled me ever since. What we have learned the very hard way in Ireland is the very heavy price of War. Putting the politics aside (for a moment) we know that it will take a full generation (maybe two) before we can ever say that Ireland is truly at peace. The peace we enjoy gets more settled every day as prosperity and acceptance become our norm. In the end the people simply didnt want any more. Now think about what its like for Palestinians and Israelis. On one side we have a nation under crowded occupation with severe restrictions on daily life taking pot shots. On the other a heavily militarised nation living with endemic paranoia and increasing isolation waging an industrialised techno war. This is far from a fair fight and hasnt been for a long time. But what is different this time? Its simple - the power of the web. In prevous conflicts the World had relied on brave journalist to report on ourbreaks from Gaza and the West Bank (if they were allowed to). This time everyone in that region now becomes a journalist for the web via social news on the web. Its instant, bloody and uncomfortable. I note that several times this week I saw tweets and updates from people saying the had to "switch off" or "log out". Reality was becoming too real. Our FB and Twitter streams are now awash with blood and guts from innocent children caught in the crossfire (or crosshairs).Killing children is a crime against humanity. It can no longer be hidden, revised or whitewashed. The blood of the innocent is splattered all over Gaza and Israeli Nation is now in sharp focus. The World is beginning to take notice of a War they have conveniently ignored for decades with the excuse that "we didnt know". We you and I know now. In between the next update from your BFF and a menu from your local takeaway is likely to be a picture of a dead Paletinian child who lived in a war zone. Ask youself - Do you "Like" that?

Whats The Story? So this week I launched a Crowdfunding campaign for our Gathering Heritage animation series. Crowdfunding is where people(mostly strangers) buy into your idea (literally) and donate funds online so you can see your project through. It has been a big success in the US where people have funded albums, technogadgets and even full movies. We want to create a 5 miunte animation (cartoon) for TV. The tricky thing is "how do I sell this idea to a stranger so much that they will want to give me money?". Well, as I am discovering - there is a whole science to the process. Its certainly not a case of launching and letting the money roll in. Once you have the idea you need to package it in such a way that people have an emotional attachment. Now I know that Irish Heritage does not float (especially if you happen to be Irish) everyones boat but abroad it is a powerful emotional force that fill a void for some people who find that have lost their roots. Now all I need is a quirky campaign slogan so I am going to use #whatsthestory as it ties in well with the idea of the project and anyone from Ireland will recognise the catchphrase. Everyone has a story and ourproject is all about collecting and sharing them. We want to give something back to anyone who donates so one option is the Gathering Heritage T-Shirts with characters from the first episode. We even have one of presenter Harry J Lee who will feature throughout all the episodes - think MrBean without the pratfalls. My hope is that they will become a conversation point with sponsors and will raise awareness. If CoCo Channel come calling I am also open to offers too. So if you want to help us or you just want a quirky t-shirt visit - https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/gathering-heritage and share the campaign.

This week I noticed a huge amount of promotion of the Wild Atlantic Way. That's the Irish version of Route 66 for touring bikers or drivers who can drive from Donegal to Cork taking in breath taking Atlantic views while following thousands of WAW signs. Not a bad idea... A bloody good idea in fact and aimed squarely at the US market who will need to stop and spend along the way. So why aren't we doing something similar? We happen to live in one of the most beautiful areas of the country and the Cooley Peninsula can hold its weight with any scenic attraction in the World. Now we don't have Niagara Falls but we do have hundreds of miles of beautiful coast both sides of the border with mountains, bays, inlets, beaches, parks, pubs and restaurants. It's a tourists dream but we have all missed a trick because of the fog of the Troubles. But now it's time to be borderless. We need to market the region in the same way as the WAW in the west. We could have a North By North East route combining beauty with culture and festivals for those arriving into either Dublin or Belfast. Think of connecting the Boyne Valley as a bridge between North and South as a touring and historical route. We need to work together and connect together on both sides of the border on the east coast. Add in musical festivals or a technology conference and #NorthByNorthEast could put us on the map for all the right reasons.

I have a dream … a Digital District dream.

Now I am not Dundalk FC's biggest fan. I have never been a huge fan of Dundalk either as a town. Not in the same way that many people that I know have a strange fanatical love of this urban landscape. But I have never been ashamed either. When abroad I have always told people that I was from De Town and they always knew straight away where I meant. Maybe it’s because Dundalk has had a reputation and has been on tv over the years for all the wrong reasons. But I have never met anyone who hadn’t heard of Dundalk and didn’t follow it up with a quote about Macardles or Harp … Or the Corrs for that matter. But for anyone who hasn’t ventured to Oriel Park this year you are missing out in a new Dundalk Pride that I never knew existed. If you do venture as far as the legendary “shed” on a summers evening you will experience something unique. Among the swirling mixture of roaring chants, drumbeats, flags, bare chests, painted faces and the odd can of Macardles you will see pride - pride in the shoulder to shoulder support from today’s Dundalk youths. Now I am not talking about a disenchanted rabble, hell bent on anarchy and violence. Very far from it - I am talking about a dedicated group of young men AND women AND children who are wearing Dundalk jerseys with pride. Pride in a club and in a town that his it’s fair share of knocks over the years and faces an uncertain financial future for businesses and jobs. But pride in having something to be proud of brought about by a team and club who are going to the top of the league through honest graft. Everything about Dundalkfc looks the part from the players, to the ground, to the tickets, to the website and to the fans. They look the part and are dressed for success. So the next time that your spirits are flagging and you are loosing faith in Dundalks (and Ireland’s) prospect to beat the recession - take yourself to Oriel Park on a Friday night and have your pride restored. C’mon De Town.

I am going to call it as it is - REHAB had it good. Under the Charitable Lotteries Scheme REHAB was "protected" from loss that might be otherwise incurred while trying to compete with the National Lottery. So they were funded you might say by the Government up to 35% from 2005 onwards. This would lead you to believe that it was a semi-state entity but as we have seen from the shambolic events at the PAC where Angela Kerins and Frank Flannery were less than co-operative with their pay masters. So REHAB Management had it good. They were getting funding from card sales and the Government but were still able to keep the trappings of being a private company so salary rates et al could all be kept secret. But the gravy train started coming to a halt in 2011 when Alan Shatter questioned profits of 9k on sales of over 4 million PLUS the CLS handout. So where did the rest of the monies go? Your guess is the same as mine and today REHAB lost a court case to challenge the Government decision to pull the CLS funding. How dare they? How very dare they pull funding without the consent of REHAB. So rehab feel "disgruntled" today about that decision. How do its supposed benefactors feel? People with serious illnesses? People with who have life long challenges just to get up in the morning let alone enjoy a lavish lifestyle? Now many will say that not everyone in REHAB was at the gravy through but how can you convince a weary public otherwise? How many stood by for years and did nothing? No letters, no complaints, no objections to management, politicians or the press? It looks like the REHAB train will come completely off the tracks without this funding and will leave the most vulnerable and needy stranded.   Read more about this sorry story here -> http://www.rte.ie/news/2014/0605/621872-rehab-lottery/ 

Most people who know me won’t know I was one of the few people in Ireland ever to do the leaving cert 3 times. Those who do know that were at school with me and understood at that time in the early nineties all that mattered was results. I went to a strict (think of Dead Poets Society strict) school where academic achievement was all that mattered and from first year students only focused about what 3rd level colleges they would eventually go to. So having aimed for Journalism three times in a row and missed the points - I found myself adrift as an 18 year old as I didn’t really have a plan B. By complete accident I bumped into a girl who was going to apply for a post leaving cert course (was never mentioned in my school) that day and followed suit. I applied for IT and I was a complete natural. Looking back it should have been obvious as I was always a scifi film buff and was excellent at problem solving but no great shakes in maths or science. Having completed the year I then went to DKIT (very rarely mentioned in my school) and completed two years. I then got a very lucky break with a weeks work experience in the local Guinness owned brewery - Macardles. The fact that they made beer didn’t interest me much (at first) but the fact that the had the best computers and networks anywhere at the time did and thus began a long career which took me all over Ireland and the UK managing large scale IT projects up to as recently as last year. So for those of you sitting down to take the Leaving Cert (hopefully only once) tomorrow - believe in yourself. Your parents and family do. Your friends do. So you should too. It’s not about what you get on a piece of paper (believe me) it’s about making the most of the opportunities that come your way. My leaving cert never defined me but it did teach me to deal with disappointments and so called failures in life. It taught me to try again, change direction and be open to an uncertain future. Companies are looking for people like that. Adaptable, innovative and resilient people are needed in the current climate and you won’t learn that from a book. So tomorrow is a step but like any other step if you miss it - straighten up and try again on another path.