The Fair City

What the fuck is wrong with Dublin?!

Murder inquiry into Blanchardstown death

Tourist loses finger on St Patrick's Day

St Patrick's Day violence in Finglas

Welcome to Battlefield Drive, where drunken louts run riot

Pipebomb discovered in Dublin suburb

Two held over O'Connell St Incident

Taoiseach appeals over Drimnagh killings

Fatal stabbings doubled in 2007

Dónallism

Dónall and I were in Luxembourg and he told some people there rather matter-of-factly that Ireland was quite a small country.

Oh should I?

Should have gone to SpecSavers

This is the advertising slogan of the opticians SpecSavers. I do goto SpecSavers. I got my last prescription, pair of glasses and box of contacts there. So when I needed new contacts, I went back.
I went to the Grafton St. branch of a Thursday evening and asked for a new box. They asked me if I had my prescription with them and I said I had. So the lady proceeded to a massive filing cabinet (!!) to look for my prescription. I informed her that she probably wouldn't find it in there as I got my prescription in the Henry St. She then told me that she wouldn't be able to give me new contacts because the Henry St. branch was closed and she couldn't call them to have them fax me over a copy of my prescription. I asked her could she not look it up on their system and she said they don't have a system! They only have physical copies of patient/customer details!!! How fucking archaic is that?! As I believe it's optician's policy not to give lenses without a prescription even though I clearly have been there before, I had my prescription in the form of the box from my previous set of lenses (bog standard disposable ones), I left empty handed. I went to this branch because it was open late. Apparently the Henry St. one never opens late which I guess leaves me in a bit of a pickle.

So to SpecSavers I say 1) stop living in the long long ago and get yourself some sort of electronic customer database and 2) alter your misleading advertising slogan. I leave a suggestion below.

Should have gone to SpecSavers*

*but once you go make sure you always go back to the same branch

Sweeping statement of the century

By a friend of mine over lunch while discussing the progress of their research masters degree:

I quite like academia, it's not too challenging