Alexia Blogs

I’ve decided to pull back from the digital world and go on a holiday from Twitter and blogging for a bit. Between work and web life, my downtime and the timeslice for my personal life have shrunk significantly over the past couple of months. Time to up that a bit.

It’s something that I’ve been thinking about for a while now and seeing Shane do the same thing, finally clinched it.

I’ll continue to pop by and keep an eye on the comments. If you want to get in contact, drop me a mail or stop by Facebook. I’ll be staying up to date on these.

Update: I’ve not fallen off the edge of the world or anything, just taking a couple of weeks off. See you sometime in June. 

Photo owned by The Wu’s Photo Land (cc)

Yesterday was your official fifth birthday, Wordpress. Despite our differences, I still prefer you to the competition. I hope your birthday party had scallops, champers and karaoke.

Red Mum has a great eye. Love this snap of the Olympia canopy.

Adam counts the profit of those Waits concerts. That €131 seat equates to about $205, much more than $85 for a seat at his Birmingham, AL concert. Paddy Tax Waits-style. (Booking fees excepted)

Karlin leaves the tech slot on the Right Hook.

JP talks about pushing past counterintuitive thinking.

Fortune 1985’s ‘Fall of Steve Jobs’. Someone ate their hat, I think.

Concept of a cup computer.

The Boy Least Likely To ‘Be Gentle With Me’

I’m really enjoying using The Hype Machine to find new music. The site works by indexing music uploaded to music blogs and streaming it to users of the site.

Like a lot of music streaming sites on the web (LastFM comes to mind), there’s a social networking model at work. It’s an optional feature whereby you can set up an account on the site and use it to bookmark your favourite tracks and/or the blogs that host them.

It’s a neat idea that’s very well executed, but I wonder will it be around in two or three years time. Try it out for yourself.

It seems that lucky Twitter moments are rarer these days. Boo! Via Michelle.

Remember that old chestnut about plastic taking thousands of years to degrade? It ain’t true. A High Schooler proved it.

Liking the Lifelike remix of ‘Epic Last Song’ by Does It Offend You, Yeah?

Simon has some snaps of Lisbon No posters. The No campaigners don’t believe in sensational posters. No, they don’t.

Liking this tshirt design lots. Made by a fourth-year graphic design student too.

Mark talks about the digital abyss. Are you similarly afflicted?

Lau Nau ‘Painovoimaa Valoa’. Sounds like folky, spooky Sigur Ros.

I’ve been spammed by Ammado today and I’m very angry about it. I’m not the only one, there’s whole circle of people that were spammed with this mail - Donncha, Justin, Michele and Damien.

Edit: Oh and there’s Suzy, Grandad, Squid from Limerick Blogger and Tom. I’m sure there’s many more.

I did not ask to be contacted by Ammado and I resent the fact that my contact details are being mined in a cynical way to drum up interest for a cause. Charity or no charity, spamming is never excusable. This case demeans both my right to privacy and the charity in question, the UNHCR.

The best part is that the email is titled ‘UNHCR asks the blogosphere for help’ and the opening line reads:

UNHCR and ammado, http://www.ammado.com are reaching out to the blogosphere in an effort to spread the word for this year’s World Refugee Day on June 20th and raise awareness of the situation of refugees all over the world!

Really? Are the UNHCR asking for help? Were they complicit in this mailing? What do they think about their name and reputation being appended to an unsolicited mail-out to a large number of people?

I was spammed by iFoods (read Donncha’s post on it) just recently and I am getting sick of being used as mere spam currency. My mailbox does not court unsolicited emails generic unsolicited mails anymore. I will be looking into taking this further.

Edit 2: A representative from ammado emailed to apologise for the spamming this evening. Has anyone else received an apology?

Represented by Calexico and ‘Ballad of Cable Hogue’

* These snuck out early too *
Are you brand aware? A day in the life with brands. What would yours look like?

Shocking in this day and age.

Some people find mobile phone screens too small for playing games. Green tech souls have been eaten by this link.

Nellie has a nicer house than yours and mine put together.

John has some interesting thoughts on startups fail.

Check if your site is malware-infected using Google.

Nifty Nosh, a cool takeaway portal site. Why can’t someone build this for Ireland? Lazy-ass customers don’t like fishing for menus on a Monday night. Via Andy.

If AT&T gets control on iPhone pricing, does this mean O2 Ireland will too? What will that do to the price here?

Just because I got to hear Bruce in concert for scot free last night (from my sitting-room).

Sick of Toejam photos? Good, because here’s one I took after the Toejam meet, running into Busy Feet and Coco for a hot chocolate before rushing home. The tend was happy to pose, after gentle prodding.

I just came back from Cork yesterday and even after that short trip, I’m convinced that it’s the perfect place to hold next year’s Irish Blog Awards. The city achieves the Bohemian charm of Galway without making you feel old as you’re not a student anymore. It has more soul than Dublin, the people walk like they talk, with a small lilt. Wry humour is an added bonus. I’ve always given Cork a bit of a hard time, but that’s only because I like it so much.

Cork really is the spiritual home of the Blog Awards. In some ways, its the Blogging Capital of Ireland. Even a quick look at the pantheon of technology bloggers showcases some of the best blogging talent at work today - Conor O’Neill, Pat Phelan, Damien Mulley, Sabrina Dent, Tom Raftery and Donncha O’Caoimh.

So, while the decision still has to be made, I think Cork is the perfect spot for the 2009 awards. It’s a great spot, but what does it have to offer the bloggers?

The Photobloggers

There are so many interesting nooks and crannies for Photowalkers to get lost in. I like street photography, so walking the quays would be nice. However, the city is just a short jump away from Cobh, Kinsale or even Ballycotton.

The Foodie Bloggers

Cork is bursting with some many nice eateries and places to buy quality produce that you’d weep for. Perhaps like the Photobloggers, the Foodie Bloggers would go on a Foodwalk. Break into a small groups, have lunch in different restaurants and write reviews on them. It would be nice to read different takes on the same restaurant. And a walk through the English market to end the day is a must. I won’t even mention O’Conaill’s tingly hot chocolate. No, I won’t.

The Rest of Us

There are so many hip bars, cafes and places to slum that it’s dizzying. For those out-of-towners, the city is small enough to walk comfortably. I also love the fact that there are tiny boutiques and objects d’arse stores alcoved off in the side streets. Places to get lost, only to discover funky jewelery and clothes.

I can’t wait. What do you think? And Corkonians, are there any cool, hidden gems for us to visit?