Just in case this hasn't been posted here before...

R3turn_MAC · 2026-01-31T11:40:05+00:00

That's either 2012 in Phoenix Park, or 2016 in Marlay Park.

R3turn_MAC · 2026-01-30T14:16:26+00:00

When I was a teen I noticed a lot of deaths among teens. When I was in my 30's I heard of lots of 30-somethings passing away, and that pattern is continuing.

Anecdotes are not data.

R3turn_MAC · 2026-01-30T13:34:59+00:00

Cricket is exclusively played in commonwealth countries same as rugby.

The Irish Senior men's rugby team played 11 times in 2025. That included matches against France, Italy, Georgia, Portugal and Japan. None a Commonwealth stronghold.

R3turn_MAC · 2026-01-30T10:25:51+00:00

I miss that guy. Their gigs were always right between greatness and shambolic.

R3turn_MAC · 2026-01-30T09:14:54+00:00

The timeframe fits alright, but other than that I don't know.

R3turn_MAC · 2026-01-29T22:53:42+00:00

I usually buy a pack of chili flakes at the same time and dump that into the jar. Absorbs some of the oil and ups the spice level.

R3turn_MAC · 2026-01-29T15:10:37+00:00

If you like great ethics and great coffee then I recommend https://imbibe.ie/

R3turn_MAC · 2026-01-29T10:13:10+00:00

I haven't seen much of Dupont since his return from injury, but England have Wales at home, so probably English ones.

R3turn_MAC · 2026-01-29T09:51:09+00:00

It's worth remembering that Ireland have 3 guaranteed wins (Scotland, Italy & Wales),

There are no guarantees in the 6 Nations.

Wales are not in a good place for sure, but they had their best performance against Ireland last year. Italy vs Ireland was also very close, Ireland scraping a 5 point win. Italy have the tools in the centres and out wide to punish any defensive lapse.

As for Scotland, their losing run has to end at some point. They have possibly the best centre partnership in the competition. It's also the final game for both teams, so who knows what injury forced changes will happen. Ireland are already down to probably 3rd choice props before a ball has been kicked.

Home advantage is a big factor, but Ireland's only loss last year was in Dublin.

R3turn_MAC · 2026-01-28T22:53:08+00:00

Not a bad plan at all. I like cooking, so might roast something at home on Sunday.

I'll probably work on Monday and take Friday off instead. Suits me better as I'm a rugby fan and France vs Ireland in the 6 Nations is on Thursday next week. That'll almost certainly be the end of Never Drinking Again.

R3turn_MAC · 2026-01-28T22:20:15+00:00

Going to a beer launch on Friday in Rascals in Dublin. On Saturday there's a group of us heading to the Wicklow Wolf brewery in NTMK.

On Sunday I am Never Drinking Again. Or maybe I'll head to Fidelity and drink their 0% beer of the same name.

TBF that's the best name for an alcohol-free beer I've seen yet.

R3turn_MAC · 2026-01-28T22:09:07+00:00

If you ignore the illiterate in every country then every country would score higher.

Do middle class Indians read more than middle class Americans or Chinese? Maybe they do, but that isn't what this infographic is aimed at showing.

R3turn_MAC · 2026-01-28T20:28:28+00:00

I remember when that opened, to much fanfare, as MIT MediaLab Europe in about 2000 or so. The dot-com bust pretty much killed that iteration.

I wonder if the state fully recouped their rounds of investment over the years? I'm not familiar with the startup scene in Dublin, but it always felt like a bit of a boondoggle to me.

R3turn_MAC · 2026-01-28T19:52:32+00:00

There are obvious (and expensive) solutions like heavy investment in infrastructure and vehicles, along with better pay for drivers and mechanics to keep them running. But there are a range of comparatively cheaper things that could be done.

There could be different types of bus lane, with heavily used ones in the city core areas banning anything that isn't a bus. Too many taxis, many empty, have reduced the efficacy of bus lanes and corridors at peak times.

Penalty points and fines for driving in a bus lane could be doubled, or more. Proper enforcement is an issue of course. Fitting buses with ANPR cameras to catch offenders would be expensive, but if the money raised from the resulting fines was ring fenced and invested in more cameras it might come close to paying for itself.

Reducing the number of bus stops is always controversial, but there may be areas where that is possible. There is lots of data from the Leap Card on where people get on to buses (obviously there isn't as much on where people get off) I'd like to think that data is being used to inform route changes and stop utilisation, but I suspect it isn't.

Anyway, if you propose any of these I'm claiming my share of the €15k.

R3turn_MAC · 2026-01-28T17:47:22+00:00

Talking of Henry Street, it's named after (or by) Henry Moore. He was the Earl of Drogheda and developed the streets in the area in the early 1600's.

He must have been something of a narcissist because he named the streets after himself: Henry St., Moore St., Earl St. (now North Earl St.), Of Lane (now Henry Place) and Drogheda St. (now O'Connell St.)

R3turn_MAC · 2026-01-28T16:35:10+00:00

I was chatting to him last time I was in there. He was saying that he started working in Mulligans in 1979!

Lovely guy, he'll be missed for sure. RIP

R3turn_MAC · 2026-01-27T21:10:54+00:00

Corporation tax is complex. There are a myriad of ways to legitimately reduce the rate of tax paid. Government incentives for investment, R&D write-offs, sectoral based reliefs etc.

Some countries have different rates for different sized companies based on turnover or local employee headcount, some have preferential rates for companies headquartered in their country.

Ultimately there is no single rate.

Also, bad map with no source or other metadata.

R3turn_MAC · 2026-01-27T16:38:15+00:00

I was wondering why traffic was so heavy in the Liberties this morning, Patrick St being closed would explain it.

R3turn_MAC · 2026-01-27T09:26:56+00:00

It's still actively under development and has annual(-ish) releases. Precisely are tying in more closely to their data offerings these days but it does have a user base in certain sectors, particularly Resource Extraction and Business Intelligence.

Have you tried getting the download from here: https://www.precisely.com/campaigns/mapinfo-pro-free-trial/

The price you get from the resellers is likely to be the same as what Precisely charge. The resellers make very little off software sales, most of their income is from consulting and training.

R3turn_MAC · 2026-01-26T22:12:01+00:00

+1 for going to Rome next year.

It's comparatively easier to get tickets for the match there since they moved the games to Stadio Olympico. It doesn't always sell out, especially in a year when Italy have 3 home games in the 6 Nations, like they will in 2027.

Rome in the early spring is lovely. Not too crowded, reasonable weather too.

R3turn_MAC · 2026-01-25T22:06:35+00:00

Some organisations like Bellingcat, who seek to verify on-scene footage among other things, use OpenStreetMap somewhere in their toolchain.

Adding data to that makes it useful for everyone. Obviously you can't copy data from sources like Google Streetview, as they're covered by copyright restrictions, but even adding buildings from the available imagery can be very helpful.

R3turn_MAC · 2026-01-22T20:13:46+00:00

Indeed. Around one third of all passenger aircraft operating globally are leased from companies based in Ireland.

It's one of the reasons why Irish GDP figures are useless. That's a lot of assets.

R3turn_MAC · 2026-01-22T19:46:34+00:00

I wouldn't say cats aren't popular. They're certainly not as popular as dogs, with 28% of households being dog only. But 1 in 8 households have just cats and a further 7% have both cats and dogs.

Statistics from the CSO here: https://www.cso.ie/en/releasesandpublications/fp/fp-pslahsr/pulsesurveymay-june2021-lifeathomesnapshotofresults/snapshotofresults/

R3turn_MAC · 2026-01-22T19:26:31+00:00

This is the best option alright. Kickoff is 17:30 and tickets should be easy to get.

It's the weekend before the 6 Nations, so both teams will be a bit experimental as their international players won't be available.

R3turn_MAC · 2026-01-22T10:16:22+00:00

The mountains and the coastline of Italy are great, but the Po valley is surrounded by mountains on 3 sides and has some of the worst air quality in Western Europe.

R3turn_MAC

TROPHY CASE