On the 1st of January I stopped smoking, to put it context I have been smoking since I was 15 years old. I’ve never really tried to stop before and I’m finding it weird. I’m using patches that come in three strength and I’m on the max one. The one thing I find is I get tired, I think it’s the patch doing it to me. The constant flow of nicotine from the patch wears me out, compared to the intermittent drag of a cigarette. That said I feel great, just very agitated. I’m not really feeling the pangs of needing a cigarette, there’s more of a feeling of not doing something. It’s kind of like missing a meal, you just know that you haven’t eaten even without being hungry. I’m not sure that I’m determined enough, or want to give them up enough to succeed in staying off the weed but I’m trying my best though.

I’ll try to keep you up to date on how this goes, follow me on Twitter for the latest. Drop me a line if you’re giving them up and we’ll support each other. Best of luck

Just how long do you have to catch someone’s attention on the Internet? There are some sketchy articles on this subject hanging about the web, but no real study has been done in recent months. When you think about it we all like bite sized info, think of what probably is the best of these; Twitter. 140 characters, and most people don’t go over that much and those that do begin by apologising for having to use two tweets to get their message across. So if our attention span is dropping where does that leave the honest blogger? Does this mean we all have to blog in bullet point form, getting our message over quickly?

Well yes and no, I know that’s a little oblique but there are people out there who actually read an entire post if it’s good enough. To put this to the test I started to time myself. Using a stopwatch and Stumbleupon I started to work out how long my own span was going to be. I chose Stumbleupon because it is truly random, there was no chance of me picking something I like. In that way there was no way I could upset the test. So what happened? Well I stumbled hundreds of sites and spent no time on any of them. In fact I spent on average 3.2 seconds looking at things that didn’t interest me, and 9.4 seconds looking at web sites that caught me eye, but more interestingly I spent up to 5 minutes reading good blogs. The thing I found with the blogs, or rather what kept me on the site was a good title, the more obscure or the lack of a title and I was very quick to stumble on.

What have I learned from this? Well my attention span is very short, but more importantly the Internet is really full of crap. Most of the web sites I looked at were nonsense, but there are some good and genuine bloggers out there. I also found out that you have 3.2 seconds or so to get someone attention, so that’s why I’ve called this post sex on a deserted island, I hope I got your attention?

So what’s left? Well I’ll tell you what Irish people have done for years. I used to, in my youth, work in restaurants. When people would come in for something to eat, they would quietly choose something and order it. Once they were chowing down we as the staff had to ask if everything was alright. Some of the staff did this just because they had to, I did it because I was interested. I wanted happy customers because I got paid more, and tips. Here’s the thing, without doubt and I’m talking 99% of the time, upon being asked “Is everything alright for you?” The customer would say “perfect” or “fine thanks”. There were no complaints. Oh sure sometimes they would ask for more water, or another bottle of wine but nothing bad to say. It didn’t seem to matter if you served a raw egg, or a burnt steak it would just be pushed to the side of the plate half eaten, and the customer would pay and leave. The thing is, you would never see them again. Let me explain.

Irish people don’t like complaining, not a direct confrontation with a shopkeep or even a waiter. We are the very same with this budget, we all complain to each other but the niceness in us keeps us from storming Government buildings and setting our own cars on fire like the French do, hats off to the French they know how to protest. They tell us that the cost of goods and services here has fallen some 8% or so, but you and me know that things aren’t that cheaper here really. So what should we do? The answer to that lies in our way of non confrontation.

We need to do nothing, just vote with our feet. Just like in the Restaurant, say “That’s fine Minster” and leave, bring your hard earned Euro to the bank and get some Pounds. It’s happening right now because Irish retailers won’t or can’t drop their prices. Sure the big ones are starting but the home grown ones are still trying to rip us off. Only where true competition exists will you get a bargain. Who cares where your money ends up, who cares if your sending profits into the UK tax system. Here’s all that matters: for years we were ripped off, by shops, by retailers, by wholesalers and by the people we elected. Now its payback. Put food on your table anyway you can, get the presents and the toys but don’t give this current Government a cent. They’ll soon get the message.

Oh and by the way, when election time comes and these same people who created this mess we are in come to your door looking to get re-elected. Make sure you let them know what you think.

There is nothing like the open road, that ability to get in a car and just head out. The independence that a car brings, no timetables, getting to the door of the address where your going, no standing in the rain. The only problem with driving is other drivers, they are so unpredictable. No where on earth is this more apparent than a motorway.

The way I see it there are 3 types of motorway driver. There’s the one who’s in the fast lane going as fast as he can, god help anyone getting in the way, there will be lights flashing and lots of tailgating just so he can get to whatever appointment requires an average speed of 90mph.

Then there’s the fast lane driver. This is the worst person to be near on the motorway, let me explain. This driver sits at the speed limit in the fast lane, some might say that he’s perfectly entitled to do this, and yes he is but it’s meant as an overtaking lane. So if this driver is doing 70mph and the driver in the slow lane is doing 70mph then a huge queue of cars builds up in their wake. There are people out there that want to go faster than the limit. This fast lane driving causes the drivers behind to get frustrated, then the red mist descends, lots of flashing lights and tailgating again but this time mixed with undertaking and sometimes hard shoulder undertaking (I saw this once, it didn’t end well)

The third driver is the good driver, this is the one who keeps to the limit and his own side of the road. He overtakes and pulls back in, he drives like everyone should.

So before heading out on your nearest motorway again, think about which kind of driver you are and ask yourself ‘Would I want me behind me?’

These people give up their time, money and not inconsiderable effort for the love of people. These are very passionate people, they do this because of their very personal relationship with God. What they do of their own free will is inspiring and something we should all aspire to do. Giving something without asking anything in return, just because you can.

So if you fancy a great cup of tea the best cakes and a little chat then feel free to drop in any Tuesday.

Written with great thanks to John, Mary, Peter and Pauline, and not forgetting Mammy Mary who only wanted her picture taken.

As we got into the grounds, some people were walking towards us. My Daughter immediately started babbling at them, just like She was passing the time of day. All of them stopped to listen, now there was an audience She was in Her element. She continued to talk and leave gaps so the people could get a word in.

Without knowing it, my Daughter has become an ice breaker. A child ambassador, it was fantastic to watch Her confidence with all these adults. After a little conversation, with one side in baby babble and the other in English She waved ‘bye bye’ and went on Her way to find new and better stones.

We have a lot to learn from Kids I tell ya

December has landed. The time of dreams, laughing, tinsel and all manner of redness. All the shops started their advertising early this year, and most are re-opening on St. Stephens Day, Boxing Day or whatever you call the 26th of December. This is an all new factor in Ireland, the idea is you spend more than you earn before Christmas Day. Then you get a day off before you spend what little you have left on more rubbish you don’t need. Then a couple of days till the January sales start. The relentless push towards spending by the retailers is unending because they are all trying to make as much money as they can so they don’t have to shut up shop.
But where does that leave the Spirit of Christmas? When I say spirit I don’t mean that 3rd I-Pod that you bought for your better half, or that ‘yet another useless gadget’ you got from the pile of knock down, bargain basement goods at the electronic shop. I mean the feeling that Christmas brings, that childhood feeling of excitement. We need to go back to basics, we need to go back to the wonder of Christmas.

My best memories of Christmas is all about feeling. The excitement of seeing what Santa brought. The Great Escape on the telly, mince pies (or brown sauce pies as I used to call them), and the fire going. Being too full to move, and dozing off watching another black and white movie on the box. I couldn’t tell you most of the presents I got when I was a kid.

So what it Christmas too you? Think about it, then leave me a comment.

A wedding day take bloody ages to set up, and often you need to bring someone else with you for extra shots. On top of that, there is so much competition from established photographers, coupled with everyone with an SLR camera thinks He can shoot a wedding there’s just no money left in it. Sport shots have the same problem.

So you are left with Modeling. Well there’s no money in that either, a model starting out has no money so they want free shots. So they get a friend with a good camera to take a few shots in the hallway of a house or in the back yard. Inevitably the shots are rubbish or just passable and the model gets no where. Don’t get me wrong, if the model is good looking enough you could take them with a Polaroid and they’ll still get work but, and trust me on this, you need the kind of black magic that only a pro photographer can give.

I started this blog to have some where that I could vent my views, but it’s time to change tack. I am currently traveling around Ireland taking photos of people on the street. People I find interesting to look at. They don’t have to be good-looking or even well dressed, they just need to be themselves. So if you see a lonely looking man standing around with a camera in his hand, and you would like your picture on the internet, come up and talk to me.

The second part is. If you have a photo of a person you would like me to look at and maybe publish on this blog, please send it to me by email. I promise every picture will be looked at and, if it’s interesting enough I’ll stick it on the blog. So send your picture along with some sort of description to bodhan#yahoo.com. Obviously change the # for an @ symbol, it just stops the trawling spam bots. On that subject, please no spam or I will report you to the God of spam and that will give you bad mojo.

I mean think of x-factor alone. Thousands of people turn up, tens of them get on every TV show and only a hand full go through to the next round. Barring you are total crap and get your face on the odd people bit of the show, you will be able to return to your normal life. If you get onto the weirdo round, or that part of the show where (for viewing pleasure) you get made a laughing stock, you can never be seen in public again. But that’s the price you pay when you go onto a talent show when you clearly have no talent.

But what happens to the people who have some talent, they get through to the next round. You know the kind, that music plays and they run out the doors into the arms of a waiting family shouting ‘I got through’!
So they go forward while being told that they are brilliant, the hopes and dreams of their family are on their shoulders. Millions of people see their faces, there are people sitting at home saying ‘I went to school with him’ and then they get voted off the show. What happens next?

Now for some one who ‘used’ to be famous like on I’m a celebrity….get me out of here it’s ok to be voted off, they just go back to being that ‘has been’, or like the best of them they get a talk show or bring out a book and they get famous all over again.

But these kids that are pulled onto shows for our amusement, they are built up and then have their hopes dashed. They don’t have that talent agent waiting to tell them what to do next. They just have a disappointed family and that ever extending dole queue to join.

Don’t get me wrong here, I love the talent shows and those voyeuristic shows that tell us just how lucky we are by showing just how badly someone else’s life is. But I do think we need some safe guards for the people who don’t make it. How long will it be before some young person take their own life because of one of these shows.

If they ever had a where are they now show, it would go on for years. There have been thousands even millions of discarded people from all these shows. Don’t think just because you win in these shows that your set for life either, can you name the last 4 winners of x-factor? Think of all the other talent shows out there, where are the winners of those shows?

So the next time your watching x-factor or one of the other shows, spare a thought for the losers.

If you have been on one of these national talent shows like x-factor, I would love to hear from you. Please leave a comment or find me on Twitter with the link at the top of the page. I would love to interview you and tell your side of the story.
Good luck.

Thanks very much people, you look great!