Whose People?

Ordinarily I would have expected to have heard a huge amount of hyped up ads being pumped out of MCD marketing department about this gig....Then again they are only playing in Tripod however I could not let this moment pass without bringing it to y'all attention! It made me smile to see that the Village People will be playing in Tripod the end of the Month (Sept 21st to be exact). Yes that is right. The people who brought you that floor filler of a song, which sends limbs flying in some directions they were never meant to go as people aim to keep time with the key letters of the 'Y.M.C.A.' anthem. You may also know them by such other pop anthems as 'In the Navy' and 'Macho Man' (Sorry slipped into a Troy Mccleur advert from the Simpsons-its been a long week). I reckon this would be a fantasticly fablisly wonderful night to go to. I mean you couldn't possibly camp it up anymore even if you pitched tents up in Electric Picnic with a GHD, Hairdryer & a backup mobile phone charger for your Blackberry, just in case you get another email from Facebook telling you that 'Sparkey' has found you a match!**. For more information on the event click here to bring you to the POD's events page.

**Disclaimer: EVents such as this MAY or may not have happened to the author or the author's friends in which case, they deserve to be told so as to have the piss taken out of them!

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UCD Library and Plugoo Chat

Image via Wikipedia

You may notice that there is a new plugin below called "Plugoo Chat". So what does this extra Plugin do, apart from take from your bandwidth you might say. Well Plugoo is effectively a chat client that is webbased. However it is web-based in that it is linked to your preferred IM client, in my case GTalk. So when I am logged into GTalk, I am also logged into Plugoo on this blog and persons/visitors can chat with me online about bits and pieces about the blog in real time. Pretty Neat huh?!

I cannot however claim full credit for finding out this software. Here is the strange/good part. UCD Library used Plugoo on its main page as a method of having a real-time online conversation with the Enquiries desk. It is a fantastic way of interacting, an otherwise boring run of the mill type website. As their Speil goes "UCD Library Instant Messaging Service: a pilot chat service is being offered by the Reader Services Department of UCD Library. Queries about library admission, borrowing, general reference and information etc... are welcome". UCD Library also have a SecondLIFE library in 2ndLife, as well as Facebook, (See here for the SiliconRepublic article on UCD's FB), RSS for updates to the Main site such as opening hours etc. There is also individual RSS Feeds for different themes and different disciplines which are kept relatively up to date. All it is missing is an interactive Twitter account and it would be just the Cherry on the Icing.

This is part of a trial which UCD Library has been undergoing in the last year trying different ways of interacting with students and potential users of the Library's services. Will be interesting to see what happens after the trial runs out. I do like the Plugoo chat feature on the main site and I have used it in the past for locating things. The staff are relatively on the ball all of the time on the Chat side of things which ensures it is not just an empty interactive Service.

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To X or not to X...

Image by Avery Edison via Flickr

It is quiet the conundrum in modern day life. You are writing an email/text message and you say what you need to say in it. Then you come to the dreaded end greeting and you are unsure how you should end it. Now within a business setting obviously you use the term "Regards, theangryhedgehog.com". However what about with friends. When exactly is it appropriate for to use the phrase "kisses" or the "x" in a message. Well I guess some of you will tell me that it depends on the intimacy you have with that person. I figure you are right to an extent, it does but what if you are unsure as to the status of intimacy or if you are friends or whatever, do you 'x' then? Can the use of the 'x' be a waste of a keystroke or simply a sign of affection. Personally I think having an 'x' at the end of a text/email is quiet a statement to make to that person. It is a sign of affection, of shared experiences and a recognition of all that. Platonic or otherwise.

Facebook Chat and IE 6

Image via Wikipedia

Ok so much fanfare and much ado about the latest little thing to happen with the Facebook development people-Facebook Chat.(See Damien Mulley's post about it here) Well thats just great. Now I have to deal with several chat programes such as MSN, Google Chat and now Facebook IM. Bah! However there is one slight sigh of relief I have about Facebook chat-It will not work on HEA computers who have IE 6 installed on them, which the vast majority of UCD's computers appear to have. Happy Days in one way; Means I might actually get some work done on College computers.

I am curious though, if Facebook chat is only developed for IE7 or Firefox or Safari or Flock, why not for IE6. Perhaps it can be summed up in a neat little sentence about IE6 and how shite it was/is Security Wise.

SO if this is the case then with regards the serious Security flaws etc and it is being used in HEA institutions still; How vulnerable are HEA institutions when it continues to use IE 6? IE 6 was pretty much obsolete the moment IE 7 was released in October 2006. It is now May 2008 and IE6 is still in use in this particular institution. I wonder how many more are the same?

Regardless, I have just recently discovered that I can use Firefox via my USB key, using Portable Apps, I will have solved my problem of not being able to use Facebook Chat in IE6 before it has made any impact on my Addiction for Internet usage! :-). Doesn't solve the problem of Internet security within IE6 though in UCD. Works great though for keeping those pesky students off social networking sites. :-)

I have achieved a life's ambition....

Ok well those of you who use facebook are well aware of the situation with Applications (aka Apps) and how they can take over your profile. The 'You are Gay!" app is one which I have on my profile, not for any major apparent philosophical or necessary reason because it is somewhat useless. However life is full of useless things so this one exists for the moment anyway.

Regardless, I have been used to getting the "someone thinks you are gay" email into my account which is fine because well duh, I am. However When I got the email in this afternoon which stated that "someone thinks you are straight", I was most amused. I was also a little puzzled as to what I have done lately which has made this person think I am straight, even a quick glance of my facebook profile has me in a 3.5ft high blue sequin conical hat and a cape from St.Patrick's day with facial makeup.

However i wish to thank that person for reaffirming my belief that I can pull off "straight" every now and then-even in a 3.5ft high blue sequin conical hat and a flowing cape. Now I have to push the boundaries further, anybody got any suggestions?

Aer Lingus Petition to reinstate the Irish Language

Following on from this post on Aerlingus, there is now a petition set up on foot of the facebook profile and is available here. Good luck to Darragh with the petition.

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Ar fud an post seo , tá iarratas ar fáil anseo. Go n-eíri le Darragh leis an iarratas.