Looks to me like the Dogs are alco’s and gagging for a naggin of whiskey!

The law of unintended consequences! (wiki)

I’ve written two posts (one, two) previously complaining about NTL Ireland’s poor customer service. Others responded but it seems like NTL Ireland may have the last laugh. And it’s based on a true story!!

I bet the committee that came up this name thought it was really catchy.

Seriously though, the letter that came with this envelope was to do with an opt-in marketing campaign, rather than opt-out. Which is still not good.

Edit: May have got my knickers in a twist & now having trouble remembering what opt-in & opt-out means. In this case, Eircom say that, even when I stop using their service, they will sell my personal data to other companies, unless I specifically tell them not to.

The Direct Marketing sector regards the telephone as one of its most successful tools. Consumers experience telemarketing from a completely different point of view: more than 92% perceive commercial telephone calls as a violation of privacy.

Telemarketers make use of a telescript – a guideline for a telephone conversation. This script creates an imbalance in the conversation between the marketer and the consumer. It is this imbalance, most of all, that makes telemarketing successful. The EGBG Counterscript attempts to redress that balance.

It’s Sunday evening and I’m wondering what programme will caress me gently into sleep mode before tomorrow’s return to work. Hmm, Channel 6 have a listing for “Law and Order” at 9.30pm. Now I like Law & Order, but there’s so many repeats on so many TV stations that I like to check in advance what episode I’ll be watching.

Channel 6’s website is weird and very non-functional. For example, their main page advertises ‘The Airfield Sessions’ (live music) but doesn’t tell me when it starts or when it’s on*. Crucially, I can’t find any info on what tonight’s episode of Law & Order is about.

Heck, they don’t even have listings for Sat or Sunday…but they do have pretty girls** who present the music videos. So that’s alright then!

* Update – There’s no link on the main page but there is this page but it’s effectively a dead link!
** Are there any male presenters (not voiceover) on Channel 6?

Maybe they should call the station Chanel 6?

Anyhow, her current contract is up and she’s looking for work. She’s considering offers over at gissajob.

Ciao, my darlings
isadub

Or maybe it’s a cunning plan? A normal person might not be able to read the sign but a drunk staggering up the road might be able to read it as he weaved from side to side?

I have to admit there’s a better class of wino on the Southside. As I cycled from town out to Dun Laoghaire, I was surprised to see them on the beaches ‘happy out’ with their cans of beer. They really seemed to be enjoying themselves and they weren’t threatening to anyone. It was a different story when I returned to the Northside.

On Dorset St, three police officers in two cars were watching over an unconscious junkie until the ambulance arrived. He was wearing all his clothes, and he wore the hood of his parka jacket up over his head. Maybe he needed to sleep and the hood was to keep out the sunshine? Still, it seemed to be a pleasant interlude in the afternoon sun for the three Guards and the sleeping junkie.

In late 2005, Dublin City Council met to decide how to spend their budget for 2006. Item no. 56 concerned alarming reports that children were playing football in the park in my estate. Obviously, this was a bad thing so they allocated €100 (plus €1,500 labour) to errect a sign prohibiting ball games in the park. And so it came to pass. The 10-year olds immediately understood this new prohibition and stopped playing ball games.

Unfortunately, after a week, they got bored and reversed the sign so it wasn’t readible from the road. After another week, they got bored again and removed the sign. So the poor, sad, lonely pole has stood naked, but proud, for the past year. No ball games remember!!

Thankfully, Dublin City Council met again in late 2006. They reviewed how the allocated money for 2006 was spent. When item no. 56 came up, there were mutters, there were frowns, there were even some creased brows. We’ll never know thanks to the (ahem) FOI laws but maybe it was Cyprian Brady, T.D. (he of 939 1st preference votes or 2.7%*) who muttered, ‘Those cheeky 10-yr olds are now 11 and they’ll probably have their first pets. Let’s spend this year’s €100 (plus €1,500 labour) on different signs.’ Maybe it was Tony Gregory, TD, who agreed with him and countered, ‘as a school teacher on sabbatical since 1979**, I think we should issue the signs in Irish. You know, for cultural reasons, loike.’ They all thought it was a wonderful idea and voted it through as item no. 55.

And so it came to pass. Dublin City Council worker’s descended on my estate. In the same way that a dog pisses on a lamp post, the council workers put up posters on every lamp post in my estate (ed: I thought the election was over?) basically saying, ‘the dog has done it’s duty, now do yours.’ But in the Irish language!

Thing is, it’s probably a good thing. There’s no money left to actually cut the grass in the park and it’s literally knee-high. There were a couple of kids lying in the park as I walked home and you could barely see them. So, it’s probably a good thing that there’s no dogshit in the park otherwise the kids could get some nasty diseases.

Oh, and I now know the Irish word for dog pooh!

*Cyrian Brady got 939 first preference votes (2.7%) and he got elected on the eight count. Frankly, that’s shameful. Our dear leader, Bertie, got 12,734 first preference votes (36.8%) and was elected on the first count.

** Tony Gregory is a teacher and a civil servant. He was elected to the Dail (Parliament) 28 years ago (?) so his ‘old’ job is kept open for him. A temp has covered his job for the past 28 years. He could give up the €100k politician’s gig and return to his €50k teacher’s job. On the upside, a school teacher gets 3 months summer holidays so that’s some compensation for the drop in wages!! Oh, no, wait….

I live in the Dublin Central constituency, btw.