johnmryan dot com » Seasonal

Interesting meals in 2010?

John — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 16:29:36 +0000

Grilled lemon & herb chicken with mash

One of my plans for this year is to create some interesting meals. Interesting, for me that is you might find many of them a little ordinary. And I love nothing better than to integrate technology into my passions.

I downloaded ‘Jamie Oliver 20 Minute Meals’ for my iPhone, which as the name would indicate suits me down to the ground, simple yet a little interesting . Jamie (and the designers) have put a lot of love into this little application, it is very easy to use. Yesterday I cooked up the above. And yes the above image is from the application mine did not looks as delectable, it it tasted pretty damn good if I may say so myself!

By the way, you may have noticed my avoidance of the words – new year resolutions, I am calling these new year plans, it seems resolutions never pan out. EVER!

Happy Easter

John — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 22:05:13 +0000

Happy Easter readers.

This is completely unrelated to my happy Easter message, but can I say how great was Kirsty MacColl? Here she is singing ‘IN These Shoes?’.

Snow

John — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 15:47:54 +0000

Snow in February - Dublin

No related posts.

Gone Fishin!

John — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 18:29:38 +0000

I don’t fish so instead I’ll be in Asia for the next two weeks. Finally an excuse to use my new digital camera. Related posts:8 Random things about Moi Related posts:

8 Random things about Moi

Backing up wordpress – playing it safe

John — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 15:59:23 +0000

Recently, I was sent an e-mail from a ‘cyber agent’ informing my blog software has a flaw in it, that this ‘cyber agent’ had gained access to the administration panel, to prove this I was provided with the encrypted password and my username with login details. While, it turned out that this was not my main blog and just some blog software I was testing at some stage and never bothered to upgrade – so I was always safe – in that respect, as I always stay up to date with software renewals on my main sites.

This did start me thinking about blog security, or perhaps more importantly if something did happen are my backups ready if the worst happens, and if so does this mean I can turn back the clock and have my blog fully restored. As a wordpress user there is a few simple options you can utilise, but no matter what software you use the following rule is golden.

Check with your web-host, how often do they do full backups of your sites data, meaning your database and all files you have associated with your website, and should you need access to these files to restore the data ,what is the required process. If you are in Ireland check out Letshost.ie who have a great backup policy. Some hosts have cPanel installed which will allow you to run a full backup also.

Step 1 – The database

The wordpress backup plugin, is a great tool for backing up your wordpress database – that is everything you have written on your blog, and the actual database that supports this. You can use this plugin to schedule a regular backup – which is e-mailed to you on a specified basis. Once activated you will find a backup option under the manage menu, I would strongly recommend against saving the backup to the server, as this may be publicly accessible, having it e-mailed is a good idea, or better still saving to your PC. I find deleting spam before backup is a great idea to speed up the download, particularly relevant for those with slower connections and you really don’t need a spam backup, easy to do if you use Askimet. Remember this backup process does not include any themes, plugins, images, or wordpress php and config files.

Step 2 – The files

Getting the rest of the files is the next part, using your favorite FTP client, such as FileZilla (free), log on via FTP to your wordpress installation and copy the entire folder including subdirectories, ensuring your themes, uploaded images, plugins and modified files are all in there, which they should be anyway, and copy to your PC. This process may take a while depending on the amount of data and your broadband connection.

The files should then be backed-up to a CD or external hard-drive , it seems unlikely but a server and a PC going down does happen. You should backup your wordpress database often using the schedule on the plugin (or manually if you prefer), unless you do not post very often, every week/month is a good starting point, and also backup your wordpress files, this – maybe once a month is ok, but if you make template changes and wordpress changes you’ll want this reflected in your backups and so backing up at that point is wise.

Points to note

You don’t need to become a backup freak, but just remember to do it, a simply entry to Google calendar to remind you when to do it is a nice idea, they even send you text reminders, you have no excuse really.

Unless you do both steps above you really only have a partial backup of your blog.

Blog Action Day 2007 – The environment

John — Fri, 17 Aug 2007 12:44:02 +0000

I have to say this sounds pretty interesting on October 15th is to be Blog Action Day where bloggers around the web will unite to put a single important issue on everyone’s mind. That is the issue that is our environment. It is a very interesting idea, and I will be very interested to see some Irish Bloggers participate.

“For just one day, we’d like to unite as many of the millions of bloggers around the world and speak about one issue – the environment,” said Collis Ta’eed, an Australian blogger from FreelanceSwitch.com, and a cofounder of Blog Action Day. “We want to display the potential and the power of the blogging community, which is a disparate community but one with an amazing size, breadth and diversity. By bringing everyone together for one day, we can see just how much can be achieved, and how much we can be heard.”

“Bloggers can participate on Blog Action Day in one of two ways:

1. Publish a post on their blog which relates to an issue of their own choice pertaining to the environment.
2. Commit to donating their day’s advertising earnings to an environmental charity of their choice. There is a list of “official” Blog Action Day charities on the site, however bloggers are also free to choose an alternate environmental charity to donate to if they wish. “

There are of course some big names participating in the event including my favourite ProBlogger. You can sign up on the official website for the event

Daffodil Day

John — Fri, 23 Mar 2007 19:42:14 +0000

Today is (or rather was at this stage) Daffodil Day, a day in Ireland dedicated to raising funds to aid Cancer Research. Check out their website. A special thanks to Donncha
for the banner.(header)

The 20th anniversary of Daffodil Day is on Friday 23rd March 2007. With your support we aim to get everyone in Ireland wearing a daffodil – the international symbol of hope – and have the country ablaze with vibrant yellow blooms and other Daffodil Day merchandise. Every daffodil helps the Irish Cancer Society provide quality care and emotional support to cancer patients and their families through our free, nationwide nursing services.

Blog Awards 2007

John — Sun, 04 Mar 2007 17:50:11 +0000

Regretfully I could not make it to the Irish Blog Awards, as I had planned this year, due to other commitments . Congratulations, however, to all those who won, I would love to have seen some of my usual reads winning, but well deserved to those who did win. A special well done to Beaut.ie who picked up an amazing two awards. You can catch the winners here

Update

Photos from the event are here

2007 Hopes and Things to do

John — Mon, 01 Jan 2007 12:31:50 +0000

Sorry about the title, I struggled not to say 2007 new year resolutions, because when you call them that its a safe bet that none of them will never happen, and using 2006 as a guide that may well be true.

Career – That is a hard one – I know that this month – January is going to bring changes. Some are not what I want, but time will tell on that one. I would like to stay in Dublin, however expensive it is.

Projects – Internet wise, I have one major project in development, I just registered the domain, and I hope to release the finished product in February. Personally, I hope to do some sort of web design course, last year I did a radio course, which turned out really well, not sure which course to select yet.

Personal – December saw me addressing some issues I have avoided for 25 years, and I am happy to say that I am continuing to address these issues with success. Gym wise, I wont rejoin just yet, perhaps waiting for the new year crowd to die down a bit is good.

Technology – I am looking forward to messing around with Windows Vista, and see what all the fuss is about – so a new laptop may be in the works, however I love apple a bit too much to go back to Windows.

Travel – The US is on the cards again this year, not sure where though, New York rocks so much I may end up there again.

The Future – Lets see….

Happy New Year

John — Sun, 31 Dec 2006 21:04:43 +0000

Just a very quick note. I just wanted to say thanks to those who linked to, commented on, or wrote about this site, or indeed wrote about me. Good bye 2006, it’s not been a terrible year by all accounts so I cant complain. Certainly the highlights for me, included my Trip to New York, New job in Dublin, and the sale of three of my websites, not to mention meeting some really cool people both online and in the real world. Lessons learn t include, giving the internet a well deserved break, meaning, I used to spend way too much time online, and also being careful about what I write about online, because anyone can Google your name.

Off-topic – sorry.

Happy New year everyone and thanks for reading my little old blog. Some of the most interesting people, or perhaps, most interesting people who blog, are listed in my ‘Irish Blogs” list on the side bar, thank you for keeping me entertained!

I’m off out – see you all next year!

Which Superhero are you?

John — Sun, 31 Dec 2006 20:50:00 +0000

It is the new year…

Your results:
You are Green Lantern

Green Lantern		90%
Hulk		75%
The Flash		65%
Robin		65%
Supergirl		50%
Batman		50%
Iron Man		45%
Superman		45%
Catwoman		40%
Spider-Man		35%
Wonder Woman		20%

Hot-headed. You have strong
will power and a good imagination.

Click here to take the “Which Superhero are you?” quiz…

No related posts.

The Year in Review

John — Mon, 11 Dec 2006 17:51:36 +0000

Everyone, it seems, are doing a year in review. Basically for those who do not know what this is, simply, it is an extract of the first post I made (or did not make) for each month for this year (2006). I think and I hope, my posting is beginning to improve, I have found, through this exercise that my posts get somewhat more interesting and readable as one gets towards the last few months.

January â€“ I always wanted to go to NYC, and now I am, next Month, really looking forward to it. View Post

February â€“ Fater joe over at wordpress.com has this on his blog, so funny. View Post

March â€“ Youtube Video

April â€“ When I was in College, in first year, I met a girl called Victoria, for some reason I am only now â€˜re-rememberingâ€™ all this.

May â€“ Itâ€™s been so long since I posted here, i donâ€™t even know what to say, but I have been working on some projects online, and some of them are not doing too bad!

June â€“ It was a busy year – but no blog posts

July â€“ It was a busy year – but no blog posts

August â€“ Ok, so I am in Dublin sitting here, listening to â€˜She ——- Hates meâ€™ (donâ€™t know why – just like the song – canâ€™t explain it), yes I am in Dublin. View post

September â€“ I sleep in September

October â€“ I have been putting allot of my spare time into a new blog network, called the Something Human Blog Network, check it out if you wish, the most popular Blogs on there are, Celebrity Blog and the Blog Pro. View post

November â€“ It seems that Sky News Ireland is going in the same direction as Ireland on Sunday, according to recent reports the twice daily broadcasts from Dublin will end from the end of November. View post

December â€“ One of my favourite moments on Father Ted, all because it reminds be of a relative, who like Mrs. Doyle fell down the stairs, only to meet me at the end laughing, that was almost 10 years ago, and its still funny.

A List of Online Irish Stores (Updated)

John — Wed, 29 Nov 2006 16:18:47 +0000

Here is a list of interesting online stores which you might find useful in the holiday season. If you know of any good ones, just comment and I will updated this post.

This post is featured on holiday seasons.

Donations

Aware

Cancer Society

Limerick Animal Welfare

Food and Wine (Updated 03/09/2008)

Tesco - The online version

O’Briens Wine – Online Drink Store

Real Beers – real beer.

Gifts (Updated 03/09/2008)

Buy 4 Now – Everything (almost)

Gift Store

EBay Ireland Stores (Everything)

Vodafone Online Mobile Phone Store

O’Neills – Sports Store

Hobby Store

Hampers

Presents - for wrapped gifts

Home (Updated 26/08/2009)

eBoutique is a new Online Home Accessories store selling a wide range of quality and affordable home accessories ranging from oil paintings to coffee trays, candle holders, cushions, pictures, aprons, key/letter holders and much more. We also sell Gift Vouchers and offer a Gift Wrapping Service. The style varies from country cottage and shabby chic to some more contemporary pieces. Prices vary from €4 to €148.

Pets (Updated 03/09/2008)

Mollys - Pet Store

Hart On Paw- Products include chemical free dog grooming products, dog clothes, dog shoes, pet carriers, beds, toys, pet lovers gifts and lots more to come soon!

Ireland Pets for the largest selection of cat gyms cat furniture cat cages dog cages rabbit hutches parrot cages parrot toys. best value best products best prices.

Please note, if you buy something from these stores, its nothing to do with me!

Did I miss something? (Then add a comment)

Halloween trouble

John — Thu, 02 Nov 2006 17:09:04 +0000

I hear there was Halloween trouble in Limerick on Tuesday, with many bus routes closing, because there were people throwing, wait for it, fireworks at them. I heard somewhere that some woman had her house egged (the interior). What is it about Halloween, which makes people thing that this is ok just for this one day, to act like a complete gob sh*t*? I have one question for them, why?

I understand that some people even took the opportunity to dispose of their rubbish in local bonfires; perhaps these are the same people that dump (rubbish) in the country side and leave their used condoms on the roadside?

Halloween time used to be so much fun, but it only takes a few large firms to over commercialise it and a few others to cause a lot of disruption and damage. In Dublin there was something like 700 call outs from the emergency services, which in itself is mind blowing, however of course the media focus was on Limerick with the afore mentioned bus trouble.

I have to admit however, and I want to be fair here, because in my neighbourhood (Dublin 2) a few houses went overboard 100%, I assume for the kids, one house even had a mannequin transformed into a witch and lots of other scary things, like the pumpkins, I really enjoyed it. It is of course too much, but for one day it can be a laugh.

And finally, to end on a rant, Can those Ladies (and some Gents) over 18, please note dressing up like an angel or witch, is not cute at your age, unless Iâ€™m drunk and youâ€™re hot!

Happy St. Patricks Day People

John — Wed, 16 Mar 2005 23:59:38 +0000

Happy St. Patricks Day everyone

Apple iPod shuffle – 1GB

John — Thu, 13 Jan 2005 20:25:52 +0000

This is something cool! If you have been looking for an Apple IPod for some time, but did not like the price this is something you may well be interested in, and its expected to sell fast!
Here are the features, as per amazon.co.uk

# Store up to 240 songs
# Autofill from your entire music library for a fresh mix via iTunes software (supplied)
# Autofill from specific playlists via iTunes software
# Drag and drop songs
# Control your music with the simple button interface
# Take it everywhere it weighs only 22 g (0.78 oz)
# Wear iPod shuffle with the included lanyard
# Run, jump or shimmy down to skip-free playback
# Enjoy up to 12 hours of continuous playback
# Play MP3, AAC and audiobooks
# Fill iPod shuffle in a flash via USB
# Charge in four hours via USB or optional Power Adapter
# Store files along with your music

Peaceful New Year 2005

John — Sat, 01 Jan 2005 02:03:48 +0000

Happy New Year 2005

(img src: google)

Auld Lang Syne by Robert Burns

Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And never brought to mind?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot
And auld lang syne?

Chorus:
For auld lang syne, my dear,
For auld lang syne,
We’ll tak a cup o’ kindness yet
For auld lang syne!

We twa hae run about the braes,
And pu’d the gowans fine,
But we’ve wander’d mony a weary fit
Sin auld lang syne.

We twa hae paidl’t in the burn
Frae morning sun till dine,
But seas between us braid hae roar’d
Sin auld lang syne.

And there’s a hand, my trusty fiere,
And gie’s a hand o’ thine,
And we’ll tak a right guid willie-waught
For auld lang syne!

And surely ye’ll be your pint’ stowp,
And surely I’ll be mine,
And we’ll tak a cup o’ kindness yet
For auld lang syne!

Tastless TV 3 Ireland

John — Wed, 29 Dec 2004 18:11:46 +0000

This morning, I decided to turn on TV 3 ( Irelands only non state owned TV station, that broadcasts terrestrial) while I ate my breakfast. As usual there was nothing on, as Irish Television stations are a bit crap during the holidays, and we don’t have cable in the Kitchen. However this aside, I could not believe that TV3 Ireland, had decided to broadcast a program about holidaying in Asia, in the exact same area where thousands of people just lost their lives the day before, on the bottom of the screen was a text / banner, which said, this program was filmed before the event…
SO WHAT! It should not have been shown today, the program showed people, holiday makers and locals enjoying the area,eating ice-cream and swimming, i’d imagine that many of those people particularly the relatives of those who lost their lives would not be too happy that this was broadcast. The station even admitted, it possible should not have been broadcast at this time by putting the banner at the bottom admitting it was filmed before the Earth Quake which caused the damage.

Perhaps the Management team need to stop eating Christmas pudding and watch what is being put on on its network.

I very much doubt TV3 or indeed RTE One, RTE TWO or TG4 would get away with broadcasting such a program at the time on 911 occured .
Whats the difference here?

Just something to think about….
UPDATE: Tv3 have said sorry about showing the program, as reported in various newspapers, the showed it because their was no possible way of not showing it???

Happy Samhain

John — Sun, 31 Oct 2004 14:45:58 +0000

Happy Samhain’ (aka Hallowe’en) everybody! Related posts:Happy Easter Happy New Year Halloween trouble Related posts:

Halloween – The True Meaning

John — Sat, 23 Oct 2004 22:02:02 +0000

Since Halloween is a holiday I rarely celebrate, but should, here is a link (and a quote) that google rates the top for a search on the Origins of Halloween.

“The Real Origins of Halloween discusses the history of Halloween, the origins of trick-or-treating, reasons behind some of the symbols of the season, and why the holiday is well worth keeping and celebrating. Previous versions of this essay specifically contrasted the historical evidence with the absurd claims and urban legends used in most anti-Halloween propaganda. I have now put those latter materials into their own essay, Halloween Errors and Lies, since it seems that many people have never seen or heard those fearmongering tales and could not understand why I would spend so much space discussing them within an historical essay.”

Halloween trouble