Rocket Races

There is a story on Wired about a convention of commercial spaceship manufacturers. By spaceship they mean craft like SpaceShip One that won the Ansari X Prize last year. The other companies attempting are to make similar purpose craft (not all are planes, some are rockets).

Most interestingly the man who set up the Ansari X Prize is talking about holding a rocket race in future.

On Monday, Diamandis plans to unveil a new venture at a press conference in New York: Rocket Racing.

It seems likely that Diamandis wants to promote NASCAR-style rocket races at which crack pilots will compete in tests of raw speed -- perhaps both in the atmosphere and out.

People probably laughed when he set up the X Prize, so when he says he wants rocket races he may just manage it. Who wants boring old Formula 1 when you can have Formula ZeroG :-)

Rudolf V's the F16

Following on from the Irish government introducing a tax on toys a few months before Christmas, the Irish Examiner is reporting that the Danish government have taken things a step further and killed Rudolf with fighter jets.

The animal, named Rudolf, was grazing peacefully at the central Denmark farm of Olavi Nikkanoff when the screaming F-16 jets passed overhead at low altitude in February.

The reindeer collapsed and died, leaving Nikkanoff with the prospect of only one animal pulling his sleigh next Christmas.

Now if only they could track the Easter Bunny to his underground lair...

Movies in Dundrum

Ok this post is of no interest to anyone who doesn't live near Dundrum in Dublin, but for anyone who does the new Dundrum Town Center/Shopping Center web site says the new multiplex there will open this Friday September 30th. Cool, a nice new cinema 5 minutes away from me, I haven't been to the cinema in Dublin in ages.

Update: I found a website http://www.moviesatdundrum.com. It seems to be a work in progress so I dont know if they want anyone looking at it yet :-). Cinema Info gives a page not found error, some links are not active, online booking is "Coming soon", but it does seem to be the authentic site for the new cinema and it lists the movies and times. What more can you want for a cinema website? It also seems to be part of the Ormonde Cinemas group. They run the cinema in Stillorgan.

Update 2: I dont know if the cinema opened yesterday, but today (Saturday) they were closed "due to technical reasons" and hoped to reopen in a few days, though one member of staff did say they were going to reopen tomorrow at 1pm.

Update 3: The cinema is open :-)

Where our money goes

Just got my wage slip for the month. It's depressing how much the government takes in tax, especially when I think about how little I really get in return. I was wondering what is my tax used for.

Fortunately my curiosity has been answered. The Irish Comptroller and Auditor General has issued his report on the accounts of the Government Departments for 2004. Basically the answer to where my money goes is..... waste, the inept management of public finances and fraud.

From the Irish Independent today:

The State received €2m less than it should have got from West Link bridge tolls under a licensing agreement.

 The prison service abandoned a €500,000 computer system because it was not the right one to do the job.

 €129m was spent on refugee policies but only 25 failed asylum seekers out of 456 were deported.

 36pc of patients under the National Treatment Purchase Fund were treated in the same hospitals from which they were first referred.

 The cost of a new Automated Passport System doubled from the original estimate of €13.6m to €27.8m.

 The Department of Social Welfare made overpayments of more than €56m on social welfare schemes, with more than €18m attributed to fraud.

The report is quite easy to read, so I would recommend everyone should take a look at it, just so you know why we dont have enough funds for things like decent health care and public transport.

Pride comes before a Fall

Looks like the new Apple IPod Nano may have a few problems. Apparently its case is too easy to scratch, its screen is too easy to crack and in some cases it just stops working. A website has been set up where people are posting complaints:

I have a 4 gb white nano. it is less than a week old. The LCD is failing. The colors are blurry. The Apple store told me it was user damage. I spent one hour on the phone with apple care. I am sending it in but am not guaranteed that it will be fixed. I feel it is defective. It was not sat on as apple care said it must have been to have the screen fail.

For the last few years Apple could do no wrong with their IPod range. They are by far the best looking MP3 Players on the market (with the possible exception of the IPod Shuffle which I hate). However in my opinion they were lacking in functionality when compared to other brands which have built in radios, video and audio recording. Personally I own an IRiver H120. The IPods were always saved by being a fashion icon. Apple could do no wrong so long as they maintained the IPod style.

Unfortunately for Apple the new Nano is getting a lot of bad press (they were even mentioned on RTE Radio One this morning). Will this be the start of a public awakening? Hopefully white headphones are no longer enough. If Apple sorted out the problems with the Nano, made sure future IPods have a high level of quality, and stuck a radio in them I'd probably buy one.

Update: Apple have admitted there is a problem with the Nano screens and they will replace the damaged ones. One journalist on tv said the problem occurs in 1 in 1000 Nanos. However they say that the Nanos are no more succeptable to scratches than other Ipods, so I guess no luck for anyone hoping to get a scratched Nano replaced.

Dolphins fight back

The Guardian (actually The Observer which is the Sunday version of the Guardian) has a bizarre story about military dolphins having been let loose when Katrina struck. To make it even weirder, they may be armed. Haven't I seen this movie?

Mother-In-Law Jokes

Put aside all those mother-in-law jokes, according to a story on the BBC a man in England is to marry his ex-mother-in-law.

IRA Decommissioning Press Conference

The Canadian General John de Chastelain and the other members of the Decommissioning Body have just finished a press conference where they announced (as expected) that the Provisional IRA have decommissioned their weapons.

Some journalists questions were a little skeptical, this is where the politicians step in and try to convince the Unionists that the weapons are gone.

I guess I'm skeptical too. Not so much about the Provisional IRAs decommissioning, I think we all know that there are bound to be some weapons left hidden away that even the IRAs Army Council couldn't get their hands on, but the vast majority of weapons will be gone. Some IRA members may engage in criminality, but the organisations ability to stage a military campaign will be gone.

The problem I have with Sinn Fein and the IRA is the paramilitary display in Dublin last Saturday. I think it was a mistake on Sinn Feins part. Someone should have realised that paramilitary uniforms on the streets of Dublin would worry people. You can take the gun out of Irish politics, but you still need to take the gun out of some Irish minds. I want to trust Sinn Fein, everyone is entitled to their say, but it will take time before I can see them in government in the South.

Politics Test

A friend sent me a link to the following politics test. It may be on a dating website but it is kinda interesting, in a totally unscientific way. It asks you 42 questions and then tells you where your political allegiance is. Then in a nod to bloggers it provides html so we can post our results for all to see.

My friend will probably be disappointed to find out I'm a Democrat.

You are a Social Liberal (60% permissive) and an... Economic Liberal (33% permissive) You are best described as a: Democrat Link: The Politics Test on OkCupid Free Online Dating

Handy Handles

I'm thinking of hosting a poker party with some friends so I thought I'd look into getting some poker chips. A quick search on google brought me this 500 piece set in an aluminum case.

There isn't a lot you can really say about poker chips, which means the person writing the blurb for this set was reduced to saying:

Plus, the handle allows you to carry your poker set nearly anywhere.

Wow, gotta get me one of them handles.