Back the end of January, I went up to the Market in Temple bar. As luck would have it, while searching for the new market location (the city is putting an awning over Meeting place square) I suddenly heard the wail of a dying cat very distinct instrument called a Bagpipe. Following my ears up Essex Street, I found a sign to discover that it was the weekend of the Temple Bar traditional Music Festival. Luckily the tortured goose *cough* music from the bagpipes didn’t last long – and I had my camera (with internal video camera) with me.
This means that while I couldn’t record the entire thing – I was able to record some of the variety of performances and music to share with those of you out there. One thing I will note that was consistent – Almost every performance had someone in the audience participating – clapping, dancing, foot tapping or singing along. That made the experience that is the Temple Bar Trad fest that much more enjoyable.
I do hope you enjoy the video.
P.S. No Cats or Geese were tortured in the making of this blog post…
The Internet is a wonderful place – filled with information and ways to keep in touch. You can buy, you can sell, you can connect.
Today’s a special day – International Internet safety day.
In honor of the day, I think we all should watch this instructional music video.
And while you’re watching the video and learning about dodgy 80’s music with random videography, I would also suggest that you review the following internet safety tips (from me – in my years of working in the internet industry) because well, it’s always good to remind yourself once in a while:
a) There’s no such thing as “private” on the Internet. If you post it, it can be read, seen, and found – even years later. Keep this in mind because it’s like a “permanent” record – and can be used for/against you for the rest of your life. Remember this when posting to chat boards, blogs, facebook and other social networking sites. (No kidding. It’s not like the so-called permanent record we had in school.. this really is permanent. Ever seen Google’s cached pages or even tried looking up old pages on http://www.archive.org/ using the “wayback machine”? There’s stuff on there going back well.. forever.) Follow the general rule of “would I feel bad if my mom read what I just posted?” and/or “would I want to be treated like this?”. Type, read, re-read, and then THINK BEFORE YOU POST. (People have been fired for posting things about their job, about how they’re not sick but taking a sick day, etc…)
b) Never share your password with anyone. I know this seems obvious, but really, passwords should be private and not written down/carried around. They should also be something hard to guess and numbers/letters mixed. Never Ever use “password” as your password. My suggestion is to use a combination of numbers/letters that look like something you’ll remember. For example, MyCatLovesMe could become MyC4tL0v3sM3 – and be a really great password. This is because “A” looks like 4, “o” looks like “0”, E looks like a reversed “3” and so on. Otherwise, be careful when using special characters in a password. They may work with some programs / sign ins but not with others – it depends on how the password database is coded.
c) Don’t download / open attachments without scanning them with Anti-virus software- and NEVER EVER from someone / somplace you don’t know. Either of these is just asking for trouble. You wouldn’t pour sugar in your car’s gas tank – it’d ruin your car. It’s the same concept with your computer downloads.
d) If it looks like a fishy, and it smells fishy, it’s probabally “phishy”. This is a great philosophy. If you open an email and it’s asking for your details – or go to a site and they’re asking you to give them your credit card data – and you’ve no reason for being asked this – most likely, it’s someone’s attempt to “fish” (or phish) your information to use it maliciously. If you suspect that it’s not “for real” – it’s probabally best to not fill it out. Scams, ID Theft, and money loss could occur – and we all know in these times – it’s better to be safe than sorry. Most legit websites won’t ask for this type of information without you actually “asking” for something. Eg. If you go to the bank and open an account, they will ask for your info. If “a bank” sends you an email out of the blue asking for your data – even if it looks like your bank, it’s probabally “phishing”.
e) Know everyone on your buddy list. If you don’t – and are chatting randomly – Don’t meet up with people you don’t already know. It’s just good sense. There are bad people out there. You have to look out for yourself – and it’s easier to lie in “text” than it is face to face because you have no body signals to give away the lies. Be safe out there.
Otherwise, here’s a few other suggestions from Google – that are worth reviewing.
A couple of weeks ago, for Jacqui’s birthday, I went to my first outing to the greyhound races at Harold’s Cross. I didn’t do too badly, and on Saturday, at the pub, I was telling about the event. The folks that I met up with were fairly receptive (as I told the story and crocheted on my Ambitious Project at the same time) and we had a few good laughs.
Well, I had mentioned I needed to go sort of early because I had to work on Sunday – and shortly thereafter, the place became more crowded and the bartender came round and put a flyer on the table. Little did I know, I’d popped down to the Bell on the Boys and Girls club Annual “horse race” fund raiser.
How it worked was that they had several races from a few years ago – and had edited them in such a way that they would be played on the big screen that they had set up at the back of the bell. Each horse was given a “new” name, and we would place bets on the horses according to which ones we thought would win. The pre-recorded races were run, and the local DJ announced the race over the speakers in the Bell – from beginning to end. The races didn’t take long – and the betting pool and prizes varied depending on the race chosen. There were 9 races in total, with the last race being the winners of the previous 8 races – and the grand total prize being ~300 euro.
Me personally, I only bet on the first race – horse number 3 – because I liked the randomness of its name – Sherry Baby.
The horse started off strong – and led up until the last seconds of the race – and then lost by a nose. The folks that were at my table were rather flabbergasted that my “random funny name” picking technique really did work – and congratulated me on the fact that the horse I picked was winning for 99.9% of the race. While they thought I should bet on the next couple races, I declined – and headed home, well satisfied that despite winning no money, the Boys and Girls Club had gotten a small donation.
