The best time to get coffee in Dublin is 12:45. There are few people waiting in line, and you can get a seat at one of the few tables on the sidewalk. Just as you get comfortable in your seat in the sun, the office doors open like the spillways of the Hoover Dam, and the parade begins. (more…)
8 July 2008
6 July 2008
Visual Aids are neat!
The stories of the Bugle P.I. are getting complicated, and the long periods between posts do not help the situation of the poor reader of the blog. So I present the following Visual Aid in the spirit of penitence. (more…)
4 July 2008
Happy Fourth of July
Today is not a holiday in Ireland, of course. Still, there are plenty of celebrations of Independence Day here in Dublin. Anita will attend a party at one of A-Company’s offices, organised by Irish workers. Our local, The Pembroke, is decorated with a big poster of the Stars and Stripes, and red-white-and-blue bunting and balloons all over. The pub is advertising free hot dogs with the purchase of American beer. (Coors Light is all they have on tap; it’s embarrassing.) I’m curious to hear what the DJ plays during happy hour.
Dubliners, at least, always have a great interest in the US — more its politics than its economics. (more…)
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1 July 2008
P.I. in the comix
I hope you didn’t miss the last few weeks of Judge Parker in the funny papers. If you did read them, you must have thought, immediately: “That sounds like the meta-plot of the Bugle P.I.!”
Herself, the obsessive commuter
I’ve been doing the commute in Dublin for a year now, and I’ve gotten into a rhythm. I used to have a pretty good idea of how long it took to get to work (about 30 minutes, for those interested) and a decent idea of how it was taking to get home. But then Will discovered a couple of features on the car that really fed my desire for “metrics” (a term that those working for A company will be familiar with).
The dashboard displays quite a bit of information in addition to speed and the tachometer. It also tells me the time, the temperature and until Will changed the setting, the number of kilometres left on the tank. Imagine my surprise (and delight) when now had time counter – how long the car had been running since you started it. (more…)
30 June 2008
GAA football & Euro soccer: Sunday = Sport Day
We had a great day for sports on Sunday. By far the most thrilling event was our first GAA match in person — and better yet, at the national stadium, Croke Park! Here’s the link for a short slideshow of our day at Croker, with plenty of information in the descriptions:
Photos of Croke Park, 29 June 2008, on flickr
The match was County Dublin versus County Westmeath, in the semi-final of the Football Championship for the Irish province of Leinster. (more…)
27 June 2008
Double-Take of the Week, Cultural Edition
Today, the listeners of a nationwide pop radio station in Ireland, Today FM, voted for the following song as their Friday Favorite:
Lynryd Skynyrd, “Sweet Home Alabama”
An answer to your next question:
No, Today FM is not the kind of radio station that appeals to ironic hipsters.
20 June 2008
Bugle P.I. — More Legal Trouble
The Bugle would like to apologize for the delay in further episodes of Bugle P.I. due to circumstances beyond our control.
The Bugle was placed under a gag order pursuant to a libel suit filed in courts in both the United States and Ireland. These gag orders prevented Bugle staff from publishing episodes and from explaining the delay. That order expired as of June 15, and no further legal hindrances are anticipated.
The second reason for the delay is a happier one. The Bugle is currently under negotiations for a book deal arising from the Bugle P.I. series. Our legal advisors suggested that we halt progress on the story until some fundamental issues in the negotiations were resolved. The status of those negotiations must remain confidential for the time being, but we are now in a position to recommence the story.
You can look forward to several episodes in quick succession, so please review the story so far in the next week or so. Cheers!
16 June 2008
13 June 2008
Lisbon Treaty: Ballad for an Undecided Irish Voter
Are you ready for a smirking, cynical over-simplification of yesterday’s vote on the Lisbon Treaty? If so, (more…)