2nd Blog

I've been looking for a while a blog called Grenoble Daily Photo , it shows a picture a Grenoble everyday. I used to live in Grenoble before coming to Ireland, so it's interesting to rediscover part of this city ( and even some parts I did not know).

So it kinda of inspirate me to do the same with the town I am currently living in : Limerick.

So here we go: Limerick Daily Photo

France 3 - Italy 1

Good start fro France in their qualification for the Euro 2008, not only they won, but with style !

Random surfing, causing random babbling....

• [FR] Anyway, interesting post yesterday in Transnets, about the fact that comanies uctually use the creativity, the brain of internet users to create contents, to sort data (yourtube, tags on flickr). There is a real work done, manual indexation, real creation (lego movie) by all internet user.
  And all this work, is it an intellectul property ? How is it protected, used ?
  
  The writer has an interesting blog: humains-associes.org , promoting some Netiquette on the web.
• [FR] Arte Radio, at a time where everybody's going back to school, offers a great insight on all the hesitation, question a teenager faces when it comes to orientation, choose a path in school.
• Gordon Ramsay [TV: Hell's Kitchen, Ramsay's kitchen Nightmare, the F World], in the New York Times, [article] talks about his experience in France and it's dream of coming back there to install a restaurant. I had to say I quite agree about the french arrogance, I would love to see that restaurant. Here's the quote:
  

  “I’d love to go back to Paris, to be honest,” he said. “You know how arrogant the French are — extraordinary. They make us all look so normal. I got such abuse there, I was like a tortured child. So the idea is to go back to Paris, staff the restaurant all with English and call it Roast Beef!”

• As published in Nature, the plancton in the seas does not seem to absorb as much CO2 as initially thought [article ; pdf ]... bad for our future, you can also learn what some scientist wants to fertilize the plancton, increase its growth so it can absorb all the CO2 created by human activities. Unfortunately at the same time, it seems that the global warning, is favorising the natural release of the CO2 trapped in european grounds [peat].
• According to an european study, Ireland is the country were adult are drunk more often (drinking more than 5 pint in one night more than once a month), and the young are not better 32% of the teenager get drunk more than three times a month (33% for the boys and 31% for the girls). Ireland is the third in Europe, by Alcohol consumption (15 pure alcohol consumed per adult each year in average). No wonder, why unlike the rest of Europe were alcohol consumption decline, here it has progressed by 25% between 1995 and 2005.
  

• Last monday, my parents, came for the first time in Ireland, landing in Dublin, they arrived in Bunratty tuesday.

Then we headed to their accomodation in Lahinch (Co Clare), with its wonderful beach.

There is nothing like finishing, the day in the Lahinch beach under the falling sun, (may be adding a guinness).

• Quotation of the day:

"Reality is what remains, when you stop believing in it."
Philip. Kindred. Dick

Crocodile Hunter

Crocodile Hunter (Steve Irwin) is dead as announced by the BBC, killed by one of the least dangerous creature he used to deal with...badly tasted fun. As a result, the article about Stingray in wikipedia, has received numerous edits upon the death, leading the edition of page to be disabled (due to vandalism).

If you look the discussion pages, you'll see the bad (subjectivity, ego... ) and the good (reactivity) of the wiki concept.

He'll be sadly and badly missed, as he was great to present and teach worldwide how to respect and protect wildlife.

Is it possible for a community, to create a content, meaningful and objective as a whole group, it's also the question asked by Pisani on his blog [French], he talks about a tentative of journalistic collective writting.

In the meantime, you can always try to build a Potato Gun as described in this article in the Whasington Post.
Here the principle of the gun on the How Stuff Work website: Spud gun Technology.
Interesting, I've seen that used in MythBusters (brilliant tv show on discovery channel), and also for some battle in ScrapHeap Challenge.

And so simple, you just need a PVC tube, some fuel ( any exploding gas ).... and a potato...
Science can be so fun :-P

And while american rednecks play with their potato gun, French policeman are being equiped with Taser, according to the french newspaper Le Monde, in an article called "the gun which electrify the police" ( i love tthe wordplay on the title), the taser gun has been successfully used on an old French legionnary threatening to use a gun, one mad man on the rooth of a railway station and a 13 year girl trying to kill herself with a kitchen knife ( all in France, near Lyon). For your information, in the USA, the taser gun is suspected to have already killed more than 150 people (152 to this date since 2001, according to Amnesty International).

For the news in Ireland... Cork did not manage to conquer their third All hurling Crown in a row, has they have been stopped by a fantastic Kilkenny. And I am still wondering after seeing the movie "Les Poupees Russes", how many dolls I'll have to open ......

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Surfing Ireland

Fun, Fun, Fun
Activities:Surf ; Pub: 1 on the beach ; Alcohol Units: 0

Finally, I went surfing in Ireland (first time on a surf ever), this tuesday. The Outdoor pursuit Club of my company, was organising a initiation session in Lahinch.
Simply brilliant, and I really enjoyed it. I even managed to stand on the board 4-5 times but then "ivre de joie", I simply fall...
That was a perfect way to finish a working day.

Song of the day:PJ.Harvey - This Mess we're in.

Wouldn't It Be Nice
Activities:Pub ; Pub: 2 ; Alcohol Units: 4+
Decided to go to the Nancy Blake this wednesday, to enjoy some traditional irish music with the french lads (GP & NM). There I've seen Mel and a friend of her, a lovely irish girl, I've previously met, few months ago, during my salsa lessons in the Daffy's.The night finished, quite drunk, and singing...
Exactly the night out I needed.

For Information, every wednesday night, these traditional irish music takes plce in the Nancy Blake.

Song of the day:Dyonisos - Don Diego 2000

Whale watch
A very interesting site which keeps track of all whale sighting in Ireland:
http://www.iwdg.ie/
The map is particulary good, and it seems we miss some Basking Shark cruising in Kerry, the week end we spent in Mizen Head.

Blogs
I just link here, some interesting blogs, I read from time to time:

• Transnets [Fr]
• Copier decoller [Fr]
• Le Journal de Max [Fr]
• Langue sauce Piquante [Fr)
• petite anglaise
• Confessions of a Nerdess
• Un crayon dans le coeur [Fr]