tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-82988058430921004242024-03-14T02:07:49.711-07:00The World According to DarrenRandom musings and mostly unnecessary insightsryandarrenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12654612825084820704noreply@blogger.comBlogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8298805843092100424.post-59662144134201195292013-09-15T03:58:00.000-07:002013-09-15T04:03:56.565-07:00Distance from the Event - Go See It! <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyIRpHfsXo43jbC6PEfRWTi4kyVcrbcnr8AxcmgX381RCn69IgQig3fK8FYmX_wLsfIcLgz0cPme0tG3vvhXHAOqQRpUoEt6oc2FwWr97Oqu1WnlLDp9MowJeVvKzXtja4Tk2nWtF2FMM/s1600/DistanceFromTheEventweb.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="173" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyIRpHfsXo43jbC6PEfRWTi4kyVcrbcnr8AxcmgX381RCn69IgQig3fK8FYmX_wLsfIcLgz0cPme0tG3vvhXHAOqQRpUoEt6oc2FwWr97Oqu1WnlLDp9MowJeVvKzXtja4Tk2nWtF2FMM/s320/DistanceFromTheEventweb.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<i>Disclaimer:</i> Before I start this I must admit that I know little about art or theatre, but I saw an intriguing play last Monday night and I wanted to share it, and I want everyone to go see it so I can talk about it with them. Also, full disclosure, a good friend of mine is the producer.<br />
<br />
<b>Distance from the Event </b>is the new play by Collapsing Horse Theatre Company, one of the hottest new theatre groups in Ireland. Having seen (and absolutely loved) their Monster/Clock show earlier in the year, I was eagerly awaiting the arrival of Distance from the Event.<br />
<br />
<i>“It’s very, very different” </i> was all the information I got about the play before I saw it.<br />
<br />
Oh boy is it different. Set in a future world where human colonies are sent around the galaxy, the play centres around the exploits of two detectives who are trying to foil a paper smuggler who seems to be always one step ahead of them. At the same time a mystery starts to unfold about an entire human colony that has gone missing in distant space. Intriguing. I don’t want to go too far into the plot, but it is intricate and it leaves quite a lot up to the audience to interpret. <br />
<br />
What struck me most though about this play was the astounding ambition. Here is a group of young writers, directors, actors and producers who aren’t afraid to think differently and take massive risks in the pursuit of delighting us. While I was watching it I just felt that <u>this is what art should be all about</u>. In an age of auto-tune and focus-group designed productions, here was a play that dared to try something totally different. The play probably isn’t for everybody but I absolutely loved it, and even if you don’t like it I promise it will leave you thinking and more hopeful about the future of Irish theatre.<br />
<br />
Basically, go see it, and let me know what you think. It’s on as part of the Fringe Festival until 21st September in the Samuel Beckett Theatre in Trinity: <a href="http://www.fringefest.com/programme/distance-from-the-event">http://www.fringefest.com/programme/distance-from-the-event</a><br />
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ryandarrenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12654612825084820704noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8298805843092100424.post-18805496767297677132013-09-11T12:53:00.000-07:002013-09-11T12:53:06.829-07:00The See-Saw Madness of International Football Management<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Arrivederci Trapattoni</b></td></tr>
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Trapattoni is gone. I thought he was a great Irish manager, but in the end there was too much against him and it’s probably time for a change. </div>
<br />
And so now it all starts again. The see-saw madness of international football management. Whenever one manager finishes his time with us, we focus on some of the core features of that manager and demand the opposite in his replacement.<br />
<br />
<b>A Short History of the See-Saw in Action: </b><br />
<br />
<i><b>Jack Charlton</b></i> played route one football. While he had some big successes, we eventually became tired of that. Time for something new.<br />
<br />
<b><i>Mick McCarthy</i></b> comes in promising a new brand of attractive passing football (culminating in botched attempts to play with wing-backs, which was popular at the time). McCarthy was obviously successful in getting us to a World Cup, but ultimately when McCarthy’s time came to an end, we decided we wanted somebody who had more managerial experience. <br />
<br />
In comes <b><i>Brian Kerr</i></b>, with lots of experience managing teams successfully in the underage tournaments for Ireland. When he didn’t work out so well, we all agreed that his lack of experience playing international football was a problem.<br />
<br />
"Wait!" we said "who has played lots of international football?"<br />
<br />
<b><i>Steve Staunton!</i></b> He was the highest capped Irish player of all time. I don’t need to dwell on how bad that was. Why? Because Staunton had absolutely no managerial experience.<br />
<br />
"So….who has the most managerial experience in the world?"<br />
<br />
Bongiorno <b><i>Giovanni Trapattoni.</i></b><br />
<br />
So now, after 5 years of Trapattoni, you can bet your life that it will not be another foreign manager. We might be able to stomach a Scottish or even an English manager. But good luck to the FAI if they try to appoint another manager for whom English is not their first language.<br />
<br />
This swinging back and forth to extremes isn’t helpful when you’re trying to make important decisions about which manager to choose, especially when drawing from such a small pool of potential applicants.<br />
<br />
It seems like Martin O’Neill would tick all the boxes that we are looking for, but if he’s not willing to do it, we should be open to the whole world of football managers, and get the best man for the job, regardless of how we feel about what has gone before.<br />
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<br /></div>
ryandarrenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12654612825084820704noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8298805843092100424.post-61574561847180649262012-10-21T06:45:00.000-07:002012-10-21T06:52:50.414-07:00The Imaginary World of Polls<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSclx9SnWPrGNdQEjVH1wePWqEkpeMP_h1Gz1Kte3PqW_wVjxldZSlj81DhlkBK_GUsowZJbNpQmMvkNsvR2TzwCX7ZtcucI5IcPEPPh0H7RYNbZZuV_JkpaewaFgWf_lhMZLO9mxj8iM/s1600/debate+graphic_01_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="286" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSclx9SnWPrGNdQEjVH1wePWqEkpeMP_h1Gz1Kte3PqW_wVjxldZSlj81DhlkBK_GUsowZJbNpQmMvkNsvR2TzwCX7ZtcucI5IcPEPPh0H7RYNbZZuV_JkpaewaFgWf_lhMZLO9mxj8iM/s400/debate+graphic_01_1.jpg" width="400" /></a><br />
<br />
In the build up to the American Presidential election, we're hearing a lot about the impact that the debates are having in the polls, how in day to day polls, the lead that Obama has is increasing slightly or decreasing slightly, with pollsters giving the reasoning behind this based on the performance (or lack of) in the Presidential debates, or due to Romney's behind the scenes comments.<br />
<br />
The <a href="http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2012/1020/breaking28.html">Irish Times reported yesterday</a> that "46% of likely voters said they would vote for Obama in the election, while 45% said they would back Romney. Yesterday, Obama was ahead by three percentage points at 46% compared to 43% for Romney."<br />
<br />
Interesting stats right? Might we infer that Romney's strong performance in the first debate and solid performance in the second debate has seen him make up ground? Should Obama be worried?<br />
<br />
Unfortunately for the pollsters, their little polls have a problem. They aren't accurate to infer anything of the sort.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"The precision of Reuters/Ipsos online polls is measured using a credibility interval. In this case, the poll has a credibility interval of plus or minus 3.0 percentage points for likely voters."</blockquote>
So any gain that we have seen from Romney could be completely (or mostly) due to the fact that the polls have a margin of error of plus or minus 3.0 percentage points. Of course that's not as interesting as declaring a tightening in the race, or assigning causation between what's happening in the race and what's happening in your polls.<br />
<br />
While the Irish Times note the margin of error at the bottom of the article, the rest of the piece reports the figures as if they are accurate, as if the margin of error doesn't exist. Our media need to get more savvy and honest in reporting these statistics and make it clear to readers that nothing at all can be inferred from these numbers. ryandarrenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12654612825084820704noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8298805843092100424.post-86472986202248363142012-07-10T13:00:00.002-07:002012-07-10T13:00:25.419-07:00"I'll give you a discount if you pay in cash..."<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0tXODDop6OAXnFTCjj6rcPAHRG8oU8rs4cpGQTY7w9y2A3DU5kJvD1os78sN2LjRVjBVLwRT2MVCCbk3vd1ut6eBuuDBk4oEJKDqAtAnBJK3ljr2lsmQgEaI1mxyFz8vAqHXlPd9UXcw/s1600/euro-money-notes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="149" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0tXODDop6OAXnFTCjj6rcPAHRG8oU8rs4cpGQTY7w9y2A3DU5kJvD1os78sN2LjRVjBVLwRT2MVCCbk3vd1ut6eBuuDBk4oEJKDqAtAnBJK3ljr2lsmQgEaI1mxyFz8vAqHXlPd9UXcw/s200/euro-money-notes.jpg" width="200" /></a><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;">"I'll give you a discount if you pay in cash"</span><br />
<br />
A tempting offer no doubt. Save money on some work you're getting done.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
But what's going on here is that somebody is saying to you:<br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><i>"Hey, you know that agreement that we have as a society where we all pay a set proportion of our income to fund the services that we all use? Yeah well I'm not going to pay all of the amount that I owe. But listen I'll split the difference with you by giving you some money off my charge. That way we both win."</i> </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;">But everybody else loses. </span><br />
<br class="Apple-interchange-newline" />ryandarrenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12654612825084820704noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8298805843092100424.post-17642262714715365092012-07-05T12:23:00.001-07:002012-07-05T12:23:39.947-07:00Higgs Boson and the Beauteous Forms of Things<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY89tO9F1ZflVFXtMGM7BBMOPwIqGiz786P1fLaM9rpdkhOxjKFyRfyOzQdTKeq67bssBKaum1e-I6gWhapNoFN01ykTC4q3qX2ANJi87JJkKoBx7ziNJXdQSKCy5HdKXn-wnFOhjmMYs/s1600/o-HIGGS-BOSON-570.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="128" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY89tO9F1ZflVFXtMGM7BBMOPwIqGiz786P1fLaM9rpdkhOxjKFyRfyOzQdTKeq67bssBKaum1e-I6gWhapNoFN01ykTC4q3qX2ANJi87JJkKoBx7ziNJXdQSKCy5HdKXn-wnFOhjmMYs/s200/o-HIGGS-BOSON-570.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<span style="background-color: white; text-align: left;">Yesterday evening a group of scientists discovered what they believe was the <a href="http://mashable.com/2012/07/04/cern-higgs-boson/">Higgs Boson field</a>. </span><span style="background-color: white; text-align: left;">It explains why all matter has mass. Quite breathtaking that humans have been able to discover this and a very exciting development.<br /></span><br />
As it happens, I was reading this old poem the other day from William Wordsworth. I don't know many poems but this is one of my favourites. I think what he says is worth remembering at the moment when we're so focused on the amazing intricacies that we've been able to discover about the nature of the world. Perhaps sometimes we need to close our books and enjoy the world without having to understand how it all works?<br />
<b><br /></b><br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>The Tables Turned </b>by William Wordsworth</div>
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<div style="text-align: left;">
Up! up! my Friend, and quit your books;</div>
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Or surely you'll grow double:</div>
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Up! up! my Friend, and clear your looks;</div>
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Why all this toil and trouble?</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
The sun above the mountain's head,</div>
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A freshening lustre mellow</div>
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Through all the long green fields has spread,</div>
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His first sweet evening yellow.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Books! 'tis a dull and endless strife:</div>
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Come, hear the woodland linnet,</div>
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How sweet his music! on my life,</div>
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There's more of wisdom in it.</div>
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<br /></div>
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And hark! how blithe the throstle sings!</div>
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He, too, is no mean preacher:</div>
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Come forth into the light of things,</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Let Nature be your teacher.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
She has a world of ready wealth,</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Our minds and hearts to bless—</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Spontaneous wisdom breathed by health,</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Truth breathed by cheerfulness.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
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One impulse from a vernal wood</div>
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May teach you more of man,</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Of moral evil and of good,</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Than all the sages can.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Sweet is the lore which Nature brings;</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Our meddling intellect</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Mis-shapes the beauteous forms of things:—</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
We murder to dissect.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Enough of Science and of Art;</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Close up those barren leaves;</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Come forth, and bring with you a heart</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
That watches and receives.</div>
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<br class="Apple-interchange-newline" /></div>ryandarrenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12654612825084820704noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8298805843092100424.post-81542014020305236782012-07-02T14:41:00.002-07:002012-07-03T06:00:48.820-07:00An open letter of thanks to the taxpayers of Ireland.<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i style="background-color: white;"><br /></i><br />
<i style="background-color: white;">"It's all pissed against a wall. </i><i style="background-color: white;"><i style="background-color: white;">P.S the wall is now owned by NAMA."</i><span style="background-color: white;"> </span></i><span style="background-color: white;"> </span></div>
</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i style="background-color: white;"><i style="background-color: white;"><b style="background-color: white;">(A comment by 'MrMatisse' I found <span style="background-color: white;">on Boards.ie in relation </span></b></i></i></span></i><i style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i style="background-color: white;"><i style="background-color: white;"><i style="background-color: white;"><b style="background-color: white;"><span style="background-color: white;">to how tax money is spent in Ireland. )</span></b></i></i></i></span></i></div>
</blockquote>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<div style="display: inline !important;">
<div style="display: inline !important;">
<i><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i style="background-color: white;"><i style="background-color: white;"><i style="background-color: white;">
</i></i></i></span></i></div>
<i><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i style="background-color: white;"><i style="background-color: white;">
</i></i></span></i></div>
<i><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i style="background-color: white;">
</i></span></i></div>
<i>
</i></blockquote>
<span style="background-color: white;">Dear taxpayers,</span><br />
<br />
I've been feeling a bit bad for you guys lately. You see you've been paying tax for many years, and it has been spent in a variety of ways. Some would posit that it has been wasted, while some feel it was spent wisely. I'm not writing to get into a conversation about the wisdom of how your money was spent, or where your money was spent. That's a debate for another day.<br />
<br />
No, the reason I feel bad is that you've been paying all of this money, and nobody has said 'thank you'. Nobody has even told you where your money is going. It just disappears directly from your paypacket every week, without a whisper. <a href="http://ryandarren.blogspot.ie/2012/06/hello-tv-licence-inspector.html">I posted recently about the lack of clarity around the TV Licence</a>, but the lack of recognition of general taxpayers is at a whole other level.<br />
<br />
When was the last time you got a note recognising your contribution to the country we live in? When has anybody ever given you an indication of where your money is being spent and what difference it is making to our country? Do you have any idea what impact your contribution makes?<br />
<br />
The idea of taxation has somehow been construed as a burden. The very word, 'taxing', has negative connotations. The Beatles have a song about it, painting the taxman as the bogey man.<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="225" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/Oyu5sFzWLk8" width="300"></iframe>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"><i> "Don't ask me what I want it for, if you don't want to pay some more"</i></span>
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<br />
<span style="background-color: white;">How did it come to this? A lot of it is probably due to the origins of taxation, as a payment imposed by a Lord on peasants. But in a democracy it shouldn't be this way.</span><br />
<br />
Imagine a group of people coming together for the first time. Their land is barren and they have no basic services. They have two options: (1) Every man for themselves, let's try to build stuff individually and see how far we get. (2) Let us all pool our resources according to our ability to pay, and build shared roads, services and provide a range of supports for members of our society.<br />
<br />
We're basically living in option number 2, but what should be a voluntary decision to contribute our fair share to the society around us (to contribute towards the roads that we use, towards the education of our neighbours and towards a safer society) has become a burden on our pay packet.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.thejournal.ie/fg-backbencher-preparing-tax-transparency-bill-to-show-where-money-goes-390597-Mar2012/">Fine Gael TD Eoghan Murphy and Senator Catherine Noone have raised this issue</a>, and information like the below has been compiled to give a sense of where the money is going. But how ridiculous is it that you have to come along to a blog like this to get a sense of where your money is being spent?<br />
<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie7-cu4WDDb9VQZAhGEKxt2QAj80GBWoyP74Etsax7SZ_3Q4ypvDgkOF9RRGPtK5ySCsAEHBsI6GOCGuZI0bFxLIG0cOX9rH9KmiXIvqXLK7Z4acyfH1i78_QUr4Q4Oyu94wgwAx8zSh0/s1600/2010detailed.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="486" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie7-cu4WDDb9VQZAhGEKxt2QAj80GBWoyP74Etsax7SZ_3Q4ypvDgkOF9RRGPtK5ySCsAEHBsI6GOCGuZI0bFxLIG0cOX9rH9KmiXIvqXLK7Z4acyfH1i78_QUr4Q4Oyu94wgwAx8zSh0/s640/2010detailed.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white;">So, while everybody else is waiting around, I thought I'd take this opportunity to offer my thanks. Hopefully, in time, we'll develop transparent and open systems. I believe that as the custodians of our money, the government have a responsibility to tell us what they are doing with it, and even more importantly, the government has the opportunity to engage taxpayers in how they spend the money. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;">Maybe soon we will see where our money is going, we will see the impact that it is making, and won't feel so bad about that mysterious number in our paycheck. Here's hoping. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span><br />
Is mise le meas,<br />
<br />
Darren Ryan<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
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<b>Appendix</b> - After I posted this blog, a friend asked me how our spending compares to other countries. Here's a sample breakdown of expenditure from Canada for 2010 - 2011, breaking up every dollar that they get in. It's a nice way of displaying the info.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWSzVcHwhV_ojpnR32MtQhrbEFGsNy4uxS8sxWEmxQ0f08cVqlocz6pKT_uHA0gsL7C2GgTS0PB88vk7qke8E1hKaBTI2a9Q-zKK3j1XNhvUfLmAhKl574FjrMG_qk8eKyzoPKl-xdOts/s1600/Tax+in+Canada.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="background-color: white; clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="455" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWSzVcHwhV_ojpnR32MtQhrbEFGsNy4uxS8sxWEmxQ0f08cVqlocz6pKT_uHA0gsL7C2GgTS0PB88vk7qke8E1hKaBTI2a9Q-zKK3j1XNhvUfLmAhKl574FjrMG_qk8eKyzoPKl-xdOts/s640/Tax+in+Canada.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
<br />ryandarrenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12654612825084820704noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8298805843092100424.post-45613489328788696022012-06-09T09:12:00.001-07:002012-06-09T09:12:45.526-07:00Hello, TV Licence Inspector<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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This little item came through the postbox the other day. It's time to renew our TV Licence.<br />
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Every year in our humble abode we pay €160 to own a television. Why do we do this? If you listened to the adds on the radio or TV you'd swear the reason we pay the TV licence is because of the fear of the TV Licence inspector; the fear of fines. You could even go to court for non-payment of this. TV Licence inspectors visit 18,000 homes and premises each month. Be afraid. <br />
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<i>"Don't answer doorbell, it could be the TV licence inspector" </i><br />
- an actual quote I've heard from friends of mine.<br />
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What is missing from this equation is the <b><a href="http://www.startwithwhy.com/">why</a></b>. Why do we pay this? On the nice letter from our friends in TV Licence HQ, there is not a word about why we pay it. Not a word of thanks. No mention of the difference that our contribution has made to the development of public television in Ireland. No indication of what that money was spent on, what it achieved and how Ireland is a better place because of the fee. </div>
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Personally I believe that a strong public service broadcaster is great public good. If we relied on something like TV3 to provide us with our broadcasting, it would be bad for society. Tallafornia. Lawless Ireland. <a href="http://www.independent.ie/entertainment/tv-radio/last-nights-tv-bogus-beggars-2848964.html">Ireland’s Bogus Beggars</a>. We need to be spared from that rubbish. </div>
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So I pay my TV licence because I'm happy to make that contribution. </div>
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But why don't they ever talk about the reason for our contribution? Why don't they run broadcasts which say: "Pay your TV licence, as this money allows us to run excellent television services that are free to all, and make Ireland a better place." </div>
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Perhaps they fear that they wouldn't be able to stand over such claims? And if they can't then continuing to fear people into paying for something that they don't value is just pointless. </div>
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<b>Annex: </b></div>
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Since the good folk at TV Licence HQ don't push any information about this out. After a little bit of snooping, here is some information that I have compiled that is interesting about the TV licence. </div>
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<b>What is public service broadcasting about? </b> </div>
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<i>"Public service broadcasting in Ireland means comprehensive radio and television services that are free to transmit programmes that entertain, educate, inform and cater for all members of the community. These services must also provide news and current affairs programmes, including coverage of proceedings in the Houses of the Oireachtas (Irish Parliament) and the European Parliament."</i></blockquote>
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<b>Where does the </b> <b>money go? </b></div>
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84% of your €160 fee goes to RTE to run a range of programmes: RTE 1 and RTE 2, Radio 1, Radio na Gaeltachta, Lyric FM and also to '<i>Performing Groups</i>'. This last one is interesting. Should money from the TV licence go to performing groups? It seems that is the likes of the National Symphony Orchestra and other groups. Is that really a group that needs a separate funding mechanism through the TV licence? Couldn't these be funded through central government just as well? </div>
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5.85% of the fee goes to the admin of collecting the TV Licence (presuming this is the adds, the TV Licence inspectors who are hiding behind the bushes outside your house and the costs for An Post and online collection mechanisms). That's about €9 of your fee. </div>
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About the same amount is provided to TG4 as a contribution to their activities. </div>
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And roughly the same amount again is provided to the BCI Broadcasting Fund. Revenue from this fund can be applied for by independent producers / broadcasters for specific projects of a public service nature.</div>
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All very interesting, and mostly worthwhile and good for society. I just wish they would tell us. </div>
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</div>ryandarrenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12654612825084820704noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8298805843092100424.post-1790629407373370992012-05-16T15:35:00.001-07:002012-05-16T16:00:50.000-07:00The Jump<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Last week I jumped out of a plane from 11,000 ft. Amazing rush, buzz, excitement, thrill and all of those great things. But more than all of that, I had an amazing <i>experience</i>.<br />
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In my mind there are two ways you can do a skydive. One is to jump for the thrill, maybe get a DVD made where you're waving at the camera and taking a record of the dive, swinging your arms around in the air madly and screaming. Definitely a fun way. You'll have great memory and tell a great story.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>A photo I took while freefalling</i></td></tr>
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The other way to skydive is to take it all in while you fall. Look around you, breathe it in, imbibe it! Not so that you'll have the memory and the story (or the DVD record) when you land, but so that you appreciate the view, the feeling of flying and the sheer beauty of the world from that height right there and then, for the 30 seconds that you freefall and the few minutes that you float to the ground. I guess you could call it 'mindful skydiving'. <br />
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But the best thing is, you don't have to be doing a skydive to take 30 seconds to remember how incredible the world is...<br />
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...though it definitely helps when you're seeing it from this view.<br />
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<i>**I did the parachute jump for The RISE Foundation, who support the families of people affected by addiction. They do some amazing work and if you want to make a contribution to them you can do so at <a href="http://ryandarren.blogspot.com/2012/05/jump.html">www.therisefoundation.ie</a> **</i><br />
<br />ryandarrenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12654612825084820704noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8298805843092100424.post-15605093748671284962012-05-07T04:30:00.001-07:002012-05-07T04:32:32.828-07:00Can you learn to stop snoozing?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Following my <a href="http://ryandarren.blogspot.com/2012/05/morning-glory.html">blog post last week</a> where I shared my passion for snoozing and my plans to start something to tackle it, I have gotten a slew of emails and questions from people on the topic. It seems to have sparked something in people's imagination. It also got about four times the number of reads as any of my other blogs to date. This kind of confirms my thought that this is a latent problem people that people haven't been able to tackle. There are so many snoozers out there, but I'm convinced that people don't really understand (or admit) the actual impact that snoozing has on their lives.<br />
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So in response to my blog post, the common questions that have been asked by everybody who has emailed me or gotten in contact have been the following:<br />
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"<i>Can you learn to stop snoozing?</i>" and "<i>Can you teach somebody to stop snoozing?</i>"<br />
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In short, the answer to question 1 is "Yes". And the simple answer to question 2 is "I don't have a clue, but I'm going to give it a shot".<br />
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<b>Q1: Can you learn to stop snoozing?</b><br />
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I don't want to spend too long on this, as the simple answer is yes. Lots of people have stopped snoozing and become early risers. You've done it too. Last time you needed to get a flight or do something really important, you probably managed to pull yourself out of bed. When people have kids, they suddenly don't have any choice about whether to snooze or not (babies are badly designed without snooze buttons). Also, lots of people on-line have written about their own <a href="http://www.humorthatworks.com/learning/how-to-stop-hitting-snooze-and-wake-up-early/">success stories</a>.<br />
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But getting up to tend a crying child or catch a flight is one thing. The true challenge comes when you are getting up with absolutely no external stimulus other than your own declared desire to get up at a certain time in order to do something that <u>you</u><i> </i>want to do.<br />
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The reality though is that although it is certainly possible to stop the habit, it is rare that epic snoozers become non-snoozers.<br />
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<b>Q2: Can you teach people to stop snoozing? (and what would that look like?)</b><br />
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<i>"The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." </i><b>- Albert Einstein</b></blockquote>
You've probably tried to stop snoozing before? I've often made the decision of an evening. 'Tomorrow I will get up early and go to the gym'... but when the morning comes the old habit kicks in. You can't just change such an in-built habit with willpower alone.<br />
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So how do you tackle it? The problem with a lot of snoozing tips is that they are taken in isolation and are only somewhat effective. My idea is to combine all the different elements of what is known about snoozing and put them into a 4 hour intensive anti snoozing workshop. As this is only a pilot I can't tell you whether this will work or not, but I am determined to find out.<br />
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The workshop will cover three main strands:<br />
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<b>1. Goal setting: </b><br />
The key thing with stopping snoozing is knowing why you want to get up in the morning. For some people this will be getting up an hour early to go to the gym, for some it will be getting up just 15 minutes earlier to have a more relaxed morning. But whatever it is for you it's important to define and be clear about the reason you want to stop snoozing, and know what difference it will make in your life. This will give you the motivation to keep going with breaking the habit. The goal setting workshop will be run by a hugely experienced career coach.<br />
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<b>2. Techniques, Tips and Practice: </b><br />
Snoozing is a habit, which can be broken. When you snooze you usually do so without really waking up or choosing your actions. It's a subconscious thing. But by changing some of our actions and thoughts in the morning we can change the context of the morning slog.<br />
- Actually <b>practice </b>getting up in the morning. Periodically throughout the workshop we will actually practice the art of getting up immediately with the alarm clock.<br />
- Tips and tricks will be provided, a combination of which can help to tip the balance towards getting up rather than staying in bed.<br />
- Mindfulness. Mindfulness is a practice to bring awareness and thought to your actions in the moment. It can be really useful in breaking the automatic habits that we have in our lives, and snoozing is a pretty big one. The workshop will take some of the practical elements of mindfulness and apply them to getting up in the morning. Anne Twohig-Wall from <a href="http://www.ananda.ie/">Ananda Programmes</a>, (a hugely experienced workshop facilitator) will be running that section of the day.<br />
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<b>3. Network and Support:</b><br />
The key element that brings all of the above together (and what makes this workshop really different from just reading about this on-line) is the network of ex-snoozers that it will bring together to support and encourage each other to stop snoozing and change their habits. We can support each other in our efforts, whether that's morning calls or texts to make sure people are awake when they said they'd be, sharing information and success stories on an online forum, meeting for a coffee before work in the morning, etc. <br />
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<b>Workshop Details: </b><br />
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<i style="font-weight: bold;">Date: </i>Sunday 27th May from 11am - 4pm (had thought about starting at 9am but thought given the audience that wouldn't be a great plan)<br />
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<b><i>Cost:</i></b> €20 per person (just to cover costs). For this you'll get the full day and a unique "Anti-Snooze Booklet" that I'm putting together. Lunch won't be included in that.<br />
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<i style="font-weight: bold;">Location: </i>It is being held in the <a href="http://www.cfcp.ie/venue/venue.html">CFCP, a great little venue</a> on lower Pembroke Street (it will be worth coming for the venue alone!).<br />
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<b><i>Interested? </i></b>There are already 6 people signed up to come along to this pilot workshop, and I want to get 10 people on board for the first one, and then see where to bring it from there. If you are an epic snoozer or know any epic snoozers who might be interested, then either leave a comment below or email me at ryandarren@gmail.com<br />
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Until then, happy snoozing!ryandarrenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12654612825084820704noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8298805843092100424.post-10586338366484571222012-05-01T16:23:00.001-07:002012-05-01T16:23:10.338-07:00Morning Glory<div style="text-align: center;">
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"<i>I'd like mornings better if they started later</i>." - Anon</div>
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As anybody who knows me knows, I'm a fan of the snooze alarm. I'd say I'm a passionate snoozer. I'm not 100% sure, but I think I may be the very best (or at least most prolific) snoozer that I know. My superpower is being able to fall asleep instantly after being woken up, so I can literally snooze for hours, with an alarm going off across the room every 5 minutes for long periods of time (my record back in college was 4 hours I think). Think about that. Every 5 minutes for 4 hours, that is 48 times rising to turn off the alarm, and then sneaking back into the bed and falling straight back asleep. You gotta say, that is pretty impressive.<br />
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The only problem with this superpower is that it gets in the way of actually doing the things that I want to in life. I'm a pretty ambitious guy, and there are a few things that I'm trying to get done at the moment. But I'm also a pretty busy guy and a lot of my evening times are taken up with work, events, sports or just hanging out with some great friends. That doesn't leave all that much time for doing the bonus activities in life that I want to do. For example, this year I would love to get to the gym a couple of times a week to get fitter. I'm trying to learn Spanish. I'm keen to read more. And I want to start each day not rushing my breakfast, not rushing out the door to be in work <i>just on time</i>, and having time to just relax in the morning. These are all things that I could do in the morning if I could get myself out of bed at a reasonable time on a regular basis.<br />
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<b>But it's not just me</b><br />
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I know I am not alone in this struggle. If you google anything about this there are countless tips and techniques suggested online (<a href="http://www.stevepavlina.com/blog/2006/04/how-to-get-up-right-away-when-your-alarm-goes-off/">my favourite one is Steve Pavlina if you're interested in checking any of them out</a>).<br />
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Too many times I've shared these stories with people who have laughed and shared their own experiences. It <i>is</i> pretty funny, but on some level it isn't funny at all. What we are effectively saying or accepting is that we are unable to decide when we wake and when we sleep. 'Rational Darren' makes the decision when going to bed that he will sleep until 7am and get up then. 'Morning Darren' overrules that decision. Laughs in the face of that decision. Morning Darren hits snooze and climbs back in to bed. In some ways it's almost like an addiction. I'm a snooze addict.<br />
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<b>My Belief</b><br />
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<i>I believe that the inability to get up in the morning is preventing people </i><i>from achieving their goals in life.</i></blockquote>
Think about the number of people who are in the gym in the first few weeks of January, but then can't keep it up. Think about the number of people who say 'I really don't have time to read'. Think about the number of your work colleagues who get in either<i> just on time</i> or 5 - 10 minutes late. It's unlikely that they have had a restful and relaxed morning. Most likely they were rushing for the train or bus, skipping breakfast etc.<br />
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In addition there is <a href="http://www.independent.ie/health/health-news/get-out-of-that-bed-early-risers-are-slimmer-happier-healthier-2877428.html">evidence to say that early risers are slimmer, happier and healthier</a> (it's science!). No wonder. If you have the time to exercise, eat well and start the day calmly, this has a massive impact on all three things (as opposed to rushing around with one leg in your trousers with a toothbrush in your mouth and the alarm still going off).<br />
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<b>It doesn't have to be like this</b><br />
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I have worked hard at this issue over the last few years of my life, and I go through patches of being brilliant and patches of ridiculous and humiliating snooze failure. But there are ways to improve, and I want to help people to take control of their snoozing.<br />
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<b>Morning Glory</b><br />
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I'm looking for 10 epic snoozers to take part in a <b>pilot workshop </b>that I'm running called <i>'Morning Glory</i>' (possibly best name ever?). It will cover some of the key techniques for getting out of bed in the morning, some theory and practice, and also will link you in with a network of 'snoozers' who want to wake up when they choose. By building a small network of ex-snoozers we can support each other in our efforts to break the snooze habit.<br />
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The pilot workshop will be held on <b>Sunday 27th May from around 11am - 4pm </b>(venue TBC).The first session will only cost about €20 per person (just to cover venue costs etc - this is a non-profit project. My only goal is to change people's lives a little bit here).<br />
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If you are interested yourself or know an epic snoozer, please e-mail me at <a href="mailto:ryandarren@gmail.com">ryandarren@gmail.com</a>. I'm pretty sure that this is the first time that anything like this has ever been done, so it should be a bit of craic as well as lifechanging! :) Any thoughts and questions also welcome.<br />
<br />ryandarrenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12654612825084820704noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8298805843092100424.post-87279457952456076342011-11-08T14:49:00.000-08:002011-11-08T14:49:51.410-08:00Risking 'good' for 'great'It was nearly a year ago when Newcastle United <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/n/newcastle_united/9261212.stm">sacked Chris Hughton as manager</a>. Seemed a crazy decision. This was a man who had gotten Newcastle promoted from the Championship and had started the Premier League season in pretty good form. When he was sacked in December, Newcastle were 11th in the table, probably safe from worries of relegation and playing some good football. Not bad for a team just promoted, and all the signs were positive.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chris Hughton: Not Happy</td></tr>
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So why sack him? Managers generally only get sacked when they have messed up, when the team is not performing, when they fall out with the ownership of the club or when there is an obvious problem in the team. In this case none of those reasons applied.<br />
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<a href="http://www.mirrorfootball.co.uk/opinion/columnists/mark-lawrenson/Why-sacking-Chris-Hughton-as-Newcastle-manager-would-be-Mike-Ashley-s-biggest-mistake-yet-Mark-Lawrenson-column-article615973.html">Everyone said it was crazy</a>, but I applauded the decision. Even though nothing was 'wrong' with the manager, the owners decided that he was not the right person to take them to where they wanted to go. And so, in a time of strength and stability, they took a risk and replaced him. This took balls of steel, a killer instinct and a conviction in your own beliefs. Got to love it.<br />
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Ultimately it could have been a huge success or it could have been a disaster. So far, it seems to be going well. Since replacing Hughton as manager, Alan Pardew has overseen a <a href="http://www.football365.com/newcastle-united/7289447/Magpies-start-surprises-Pardew">hugely successful start to this season's Premiership</a>, which sees Newcastle unbeaten so far and currently sitting in third position in the league. I doubt their run of form will last the whole season, and most likely they will be doing well if they finish in the top 8 or so, but with limited resources Pardew has gotten the team playing some great football.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSmWcctKG3B4kYiGXdGbtnkSPoO1yO_IQxBbh4feqO92M0-UBILluKYVm0ld4-e5wiQyFR_anv-t8r4Iw_EgplQwkRelMiGzAjRMMueHBbAGhSxzHrKSf2uDrRofCVkq1eSu0_aL3LctQ/s1600/article-1336593-01E7C01A00000578-845_634x424.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSmWcctKG3B4kYiGXdGbtnkSPoO1yO_IQxBbh4feqO92M0-UBILluKYVm0ld4-e5wiQyFR_anv-t8r4Iw_EgplQwkRelMiGzAjRMMueHBbAGhSxzHrKSf2uDrRofCVkq1eSu0_aL3LctQ/s200/article-1336593-01E7C01A00000578-845_634x424.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Newcastle owner Mike Ashley: Happy</td></tr>
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I think this is a great lesson for all of us. Why wait for things to blow up and fall to pieces before making a change? Why not try to improve from a position of strength not weakness? And why not risk it all by throwing away 'good' and aiming for 'great'.<br />
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<br />ryandarrenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12654612825084820704noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8298805843092100424.post-89660916933483544862011-10-28T14:27:00.000-07:002011-10-28T14:27:02.569-07:00Integrity<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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As I write this blog Michael D Higgins is waiting to be confirmed as the 9th President of Ireland.<br />
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This success follows a strange final week to the election campaign, with a big shift in the voting since the last poll - <a href="http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2011/1028/breaking44.html">38 per cent of the electorate only made up their minds in the final 3 days before the vote</a>. In particular, many people shifted their support to Michael D in the final days before the voting began.<br />
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So in the end what was it that pushed Michael D ahead of the others? When it came down to it, what did the Irish people look for in their President? In a poll taken on the day of the election, voters were asked what was the most important element in their decision making. The answer? Integrity. <br />
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According to the poll, integrity was more important than experience, skills, independence or ability. And unfortunately it seems that for the electorate, integrity did not seem to be an abundant quality in our candidates. Integrity is a tricky beast you see. As we have seen this week, one single slip or the hint of a question mark over your past, and a shadow of doubt can be cast. And once that shadow has been cast, <a href="http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2011/1026/breaking3.html">it is extremely difficult to shake it off.</a><br />
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In Michael D Higgins' 71 years he has managed to avoid that shadow. He brought an aura of honesty, passion and integrity to the election campaign. For me (and many people around Ireland) that was what sealed the deal in the end. I hate to sound too much like his <a href="http://www.michaeldhiggins.ie/">campaign slogan</a>, but I really believe that he is a President who will do us proud. I can't wait to see him in the role.ryandarrenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12654612825084820704noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8298805843092100424.post-41071402499181982732011-10-10T12:16:00.000-07:002011-10-10T12:16:33.003-07:00Hope Deals the Hardest Blows<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Did we all get a bit carried away? Did we allow ourselves to hope too much, to allow ourselves to dream <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-gIztqPlJ3w">the impossible dream</a>? To dream that perhaps, just maybe, Ireland could get to the final of a Rugby World Cup (and maybe maybe just maybe we might just potentially, perhaps, win the feckin thing?). </div>
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We were a hopeful and expectant nation. For the first time in a long time we had something to be collectively hopeful of. And it was a wonderful feeling. A great buzz swept across the country. Thousands of miles away on the other side of the world, Irish people who had left the country due to a complete lack of hope, were once again bursting with the stuff. </div>
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Which made the defeat on Saturday morning even more difficult to take. As Foy Vance says in one of my favourite songs - hope deals the hardest blows. </div>
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<blockquote>
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<object class="BLOGGER-youtube-video" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0" data-thumbnail-src="http://0.gvt0.com/vi/FW_YJh-5bSw/0.jpg" height="266" width="320"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/FW_YJh-5bSw&fs=1&source=uds" />
<param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF" />
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<blockquote>
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<i>"If there's one thing that I know</i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>It is the two shades of hope</i></div>
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<i>One the enlightening soul</i></div>
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<i>And the other is more like a hangman's rope</i></div>
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<i>Well it's true, you may reap what you sow</i></div>
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<i>But not that despair is the all-time low</i></div>
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<i>Baby, hope deals the hardest blow"</i></div>
</blockquote>
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It's true. But it's worth it.<br />
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Because if we do not hope we will never move beyond our current circumstances; we will never step back, see the bigger picture, believe in a better future and act to make it happen.<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px;"></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px;">So after the blow that was delivered to a hopeful nation on Saturday, we have to pick ourselves up and find something else to be hopeful about, another dream to follow. Perhaps</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px;"> it is now time for us to start being hopeful about Ireland again. To hope that we can overcome the current challenges, hope that we can improve things, hope that in future things will be much better. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px;"><br /></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px;">In my work with social entrepreneurs, I have seen how hope can drive people to take action, how hope can help people overcome the greatest challenges, and how acting on this hope can bring about great changes......</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px;">..........and sure if changing Ireland doesn't work out for us, we've always got the footy. </span></div>
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ryandarrenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12654612825084820704noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8298805843092100424.post-90773668079838971472011-10-06T15:45:00.000-07:002011-10-06T15:45:42.609-07:00The iPhoneI was very sad to hear of the passing of Steve Jobs today.<br />
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As a lover of the iPhone (quite literally apparently - <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/01/opinion/you-love-your-iphone-literally.html?_r=3">according to this report</a>) I know first hand the difference that this piece of technology has made to the lives of millions of people around the world.<br />
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People with iPhones get a hard time of it. Always being online, checking emails (work and personal) at silly times and stalking people on facebook are the usual slags. Having an 'app' for pretty much every problem you find yourself in, or simply just being the annoying person who check up on facts mid-way through a conversation.<br />
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I like doing all of these things, and so was a fan of both the iPhone and its inventor.<br />
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Many eulogies have come out today about him. For example, in the words of Obama, Steve Jobs was:<br />
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<i>"brave enough to think differently, bold enough to think he could change the world and talented enough to do it.<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #3333ff; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">"</span></i></blockquote>
Well said.<br />
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For me though the best quote about Steve Jobs came from a social entrepreneur based in Ireland, Lisa Domican. Lisa invented the <a href="http://www.graceapp.com/">Grace App</a>, an iPhone application that allows children with autism to communicate using a system of <a href="http://www.graceapp.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/High-Res-iPhone-4-Screenshot-of-Grace-App.png">pictures and photographs</a>. <br />
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Lisa created the app for her daughter Grace, who is autistic and finds verbal communication difficult. With the iPhone app, Grace, and other children like her, can communicate exactly what they want to say.<br />
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And so the words that really struck me today was a message I received from Lisa:<br />
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<i>"Feeling very sad about Steve Jobs today. Without the iPhone I don't think Gracie would be talking to me" </i></blockquote>
Out of all the other great things that Steve Job achieved, this has to rank right up there. <br />
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ryandarrenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12654612825084820704noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8298805843092100424.post-84760692487342893982011-09-30T17:51:00.000-07:002011-09-30T17:51:59.609-07:00The Future of EducationWith everything that's going on in Ireland at the moment, people are rightly a little bit fed up. The lads and ladies up in the IMF and EU are calling a good few of the shots, so things seem a bit futile and there is a sense of powerlessness about the direction we're going in.<br />
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But there is one area in Ireland that we <u>can</u> do something about, that will have massive implications for the country, and that need not cost us much to change.<br />
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Education.<br />
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There is now a unique opportunity to bring about significant changes in our education system, due to three different factors:<br />
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<b>1. Economic Arguments:</b><br />
The business sector have come out clearly to state that the type of graduate they would like is not really being produced by the current education system. Rote learning and a good memory will get you through exams, but in the modern world employers are looking for much more from graduates, and if they don't find it here, there are plenty of other countries that they could go.<br />
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I read with interest the <a href="http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/frontpage/2011/0908/1224303702056.html">recent announcement by DCU </a>that they are planning to create a new generation of 'model graduates' based on the needs of the economy and the business sector. While many people reacted negatively to this story, the details of their new "<i style="font-weight: bold;">Generation 21</i>" scheme are actually on the right track.<br />
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They are looking for our graduates to be:<br />
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- Creative<br />
- Enterprising<br />
- Committed to continuous learning<br />
- Solution-oriented<br />
- Effective Communicators<br />
- Globally Engaged<br />
- Active Leaders<br />
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Hard to argue with that. For perhaps the first time in history, the needs of business are matching the needs of the education system. We need to grab this chance.<br />
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<b>2. Social Arguments:</b><br />
A bad education has an impact on all students, but the negative impact is greatest on students from disadvantaged backgrounds. If we want to combat the ridiculous situation of Irish citizens being illiterate (some studies show 23% of Irish men are not functionally literate), we need to change the education system. Education systems that encourage children to take an active role in their learning, support them to work in teams and foster innovation and creativity have been shown to lead to better outcomes for students. More importantly, educating children in this way is shown to improve achievement particularly for for students from disadvantaged backgrounds. <a href="http://www.smithsonianmag.com/people-places/Why-Are-Finlands-Schools-Successful.html?c=y&page=2">Finland is a great example of this system of education in action</a>, and they have the smallest gap between highest and lowest educational outcomes.<br />
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All of this is backed up by global momentum and some legendary people on the side of educational transformation. My man crush Ken Robinson is one such legend, and if you haven't seen his talks on education you need to watch them right now: <a href="http://www.ted.com/talks/ken_robinson_says_schools_kill_creativity.html">"Schools Kill Creativity"</a> and <a href="http://www.ted.com/talks/sir_ken_robinson_bring_on_the_revolution.html">"Bring on the Learning Revolution"</a>.<br />
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Getting this right is probably the most important thing we can do to transform the outcomes for children in the coming years.<br />
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<b>3. Political Will</b><br />
In Ruairi Quinn we have a Minister for Education who gets this. In the short space that he has been in power he has already set out his stall to change the focus of education, and <a href="http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2011/0926/1224304755124.html">backed proposals to radically reform the Junior Cert</a>, making it 40% dependent on project work and only 60% dependent on exams.<br />
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<b>What next?</b><br />
So the need is there from both the social and economic viewpoints and there is a growing momentum building to bring about change. The next steps are, therefore, vitally important, as the danger is that changes will be made to the system without providing the appropriate supports to make the changes work. This would be disastrous.<br />
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As luck would have it, solutions are emerging that will help schools to transition into this new model of education. These need to be supported to ensure any changes we make to the education system are effective.<br />
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One such solution is provided by <a href="http://www.bridge21.ie/about-us/about-bridge-21/">'Bridge21'</a> , an innovative organisation led by an award winning social entrepreneur, John Lawlor. John's aim is to smash the victorian classroom and support schools to implement an education system that is <i>team based, technology mediated, project based and cross curricular</i>. They are already working in Irish secondary schools right now, and initial results indicate that it's making a real impact. As we make the move to a new system of education, solutions like the Bridge21 model will be vital to success.<br />
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This is an exciting time for education in Ireland. Many of the pieces are falling into place. We have some momentum, we have some solutions, and we know how important it is for the country. All we need to do now is make it happen.<br />
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ryandarrenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12654612825084820704noreply@blogger.com0