Heat zaps the bugs and delivers a winning final
I had written off this series by the third episode but it still showed glimmers of quality. Luckily those glimmers shone through to beat off the bozos and tooth veneers. The final gave us the two best chefs who were clearly passionate and capable.
Heat The food they cooked was fantastic, the mistakes understandable and the emotion strong. My heart was with Ann but I knew in my gut that Paul would clinch it at the end.
Posted by Conor O'Neill on Sunday, August 10, 2008
Terra Madre Ireland
Dianne Curtin just let me know about Terra Madre Ireland which is on in WIT, Waterford from 4th - 7th September. Anyone involved in the Slow Food movement will know what this is about. If you don’t:
A Sustainable Future for the Irish Food Industry
An important conference for all those involved in the Irish food chain including state bodies, retailers, growers and food producers. Attend the morning conference and choose 1 of 40 workshops (click for list) to contribute to key policy debates.
Posted by Conor O'Neill on Monday, August 4, 2008
Fax Spammers still allowed to operate with impunity in Ireland
JD, one of the most prolific commenters on this blog, let me know about some fax spammers called Prism Fax badgering his elderly parents. It appears that the white elephant known as the Data Protection Commissioner was utterly useless in dealing with this. If Brian Cowen is looking to save a few bob, I can think of one organisation that wouldn’t be missed if it was shut down tomorrow. Read the full story here.
Posted by Conor O'Neill on Monday, August 4, 2008
Blog Moved to Blacknight
8 years after I first registered conoroneill.com, this blog is finally hosted in Ireland where it belongs. Based on all the great feedback I heard about Blacknight and the fact that they are great supporters of the Irish tech startup community, I went with them.
We’re on the SOHO package with is just €35 per year ex-VAT and it does everything I need. The move was extremely easy to do. I just copied all the Wordpress files off the old host, copied the Wordpress Database, loaded both up on Blacknight and told GoDaddy that the blog is now there.
Posted by Conor O'Neill on Thursday, July 31, 2008
New Cork Foodie Blogger
Ivan Santry has started a top-notch food blog over at Messy-Chef. Recipes, reviews and thoughts. The blog design looks gorgeous too.
Check it out.
Posted by Conor O'Neill on Monday, July 28, 2008
Bobby Walls, a life enjoyed
On June 9th, my uncle Bobby Walls, passed away suddenly. He had been suffering from cardiomyopathy for several years and left us too young at the age of 56.
I probably hadn’t seen Bobby since the last funeral I attended in Ratoath. The line about Irish families only meeting at baptisms, weddings and funerals is so true. However, as with all my uncles and aunts, I was incredibly fond of him, having spent many summers in my Granny’s house as a kid.
Posted by Conor O'Neill on Sunday, July 27, 2008
Like a fine wine
In a change from our usual programming here at Bandon HQ, I kicked off a light-hearted conversation on Twitter earlier about great looking women who just get better and better with age (we also covered men). The results of the Twitter jury in chronological (not age) order were as follows:
Neve Campbell
My wife
Marisa Tomei
Maria Bello
Catherine Keener
Posted by Conor O'Neill on Friday, July 25, 2008
Deep thinking on Energy Demand vs Supply
I’ve been talking quite a bit recently to Phoebe Bright who is based down in Drinagh. She wears many hats but is incredibly passionate and knowledgeable about energy.
She writes some absolutely brilliant stuff in this area on her blog and I highly recommend you subscribe to it. She is no happy clappy, let’s wear hemp shirts and cycle 40 miles to work every day person. The blog talks about fundamental issues around energy supply and managing energy demand.
Posted by Conor O'Neill on Thursday, July 24, 2008
Local Business Support
I’ve done a post over on our business blog about the supports offered to local business by West Cork Enterprise Board. If you are based in the region, it’s well worth reading. The highlights are:
6 hour IT Consultancy for €150 via Tech-Check Feasibility Study Grants up to €5100 International Trade Show Attendance Grants up to €2000 Ecommerce Web-site development Grants up to €1500 That last one is absolutely brilliant.
Posted by Conor O'Neill on Thursday, July 24, 2008
Opportunity for a Property Developer
Now that’s a phrase you didn’t expect to hear in the current economic climate.
One of the reasons we settled on Bandon when we moved to Cork was the classic location, location, location. It really is ideally situated in Munster for access to almost everything - Cork City, Airport, beaches, businesses, school, sports facilities etc etc.
However, this prime location is missing something critical - somewhere people can meet in a modern business context.
Posted by Conor O'Neill on Tuesday, July 22, 2008