419 Scammer Caught!

Here’s the fascinating account of the arrest of a 419 spammer in a Dublin Internet cafe. It is a lengthy but good read, and the following thread brings up some interesting points about the legality of listening to Internet traffic.
Later… and it made it on to slashdot! Thankfully the linked page on linux.ie is the static archive page I linked to above. I think we’ll survive the slashdotting!
And we made it on to the Register too!

B&W, Bokeh, Chew, Junk, Pro-photographer, LCD vs CRT, etc etc

Lots and lots of articles via Photography Blog this morning!

  • B&W – Take great photos in black and white! Good examples, and I believe B&W photography lends a dramatic atmosphere to any scene!
  • Bokeh in Pictures – I had never heard of Bokeh before. Here’s a good technical description of an interesting concept, Bokeh is simply a way to describe how out-of-focus points of light are rendered. It describes the appearance or “feel” of out-of-focus backgrounds and foregrounds.
  • Film users! Don’t be afraid to use your computer to manipulate and fix you photos! All the tools you have in your darkroom are also there in Photohop, The GIMP and related software!
  • Confessions of a Gear Junkie.. Heh. My own collection of junk hasn’t reached the stage this author has got to yet!
  • Becoming a Photographer – take a course, practise, do you have what it takes? Hmm, I won’t be giving up the day job any time soon!
  • LCD vs CRT – LCDs are getting better but CRTs still have the edge in image quality!

Later … There’s a new issue of the Digital Journalist out. Looks like some good editorial reading there. I wonder if they have any comments on the recent photos from Iraq.. Yes, here it is.

First Post From Blarney!

Finally got the computer connected to the phone line a few days ago! Connection speed is good, even if it’s still only dial-up. No DSL in Blarney yet.
After the first weekend of the smoking ban I have to say it’s great! I was out in Cork on Friday night and it was strange to see so many people outside pubs, but the air inside is so clean and clothes the next day don’t stink to high heaven!
Last night was the first night out in Blarney. Headed to the Muskerry Arms and it’s not a bad pub at all! Again, the lack of smoke in the pub is a huge boon!

Who collects the household rubbish in Blarney?

When you’ve a question, who do you ask? Google! I searched for rubbish collection blarney ireland in an effort to find out who, besides the council, operate garbage/rubbish collections in Blarney, Co. Cork. Damn blogs have polluted the search results! 🙂
Much Later … On a more serious note. Here’s a list of Bring Sites in Co. Cork. Looks like I can recycle glass, paper and cans in Blarney but I hope that list isn’t out of date now! Here’s a commentary on the woeful state of recycling in Ireland. We’re way behind everyone else.
Earlier today I noticed that Ballincollig has an extensive “Bring Site”. You can recycle paper, cans, glass and even plastics there!

Pensions in Ireland

It’s one of those things everyone should have but nobody wants to think about, until it’s too late in some cases! A representative from the Pensions Board was on the radio this morning reminding people to look into pensions!
Apparently you can get half of what you contribute to a pension back in tax relief! That’s something I must look into in the next year or two.

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