My first name seems to cause confusion for a lot of English speakers due to how it is written. I won't even get started on how it's pronounced! So I get a LOT of emails and letters that start like this: I'm a guy. Seriously. That's why I sign my emails: Mr Michele Neylon Maybe I should just move back to an Italian speaking country? … [Read more...] about The Downside to Having an Italian First Name
rant
Copyright Cluelessness At Its Worst
While I can appreciate that understanding the subtleties of intellectual property law is challenging, getting the basics right isn't that hard. If I produce "work" it is mine. I hold the copyright to it unless I publish it under some form of license that allows sharing - that could be a CC license or a simple "go ahead and (ab)use this content". There is no issue with … [Read more...] about Copyright Cluelessness At Its Worst
AIB Irony
AIB is one of Ireland's largest banks. I use it for my personal banking, while the company also uses them for pretty much everything. I've had my issues with them in the past. Most recently their rather "nutty" handling of phone calls has really peeved me. You can read more about this here. Short version - bank rings customer to check if charges are valid, but does so … [Read more...] about AIB Irony
AIB Take Logic To New Low
Both my personal and business credit cards are with AIB. From time to time credit card services need to contact me. Unfortunately a lot of the calls I get from them and other parts of the bank come from a blocked number ie. I cannot see who is calling me when I answer the call on my mobile. I really don't like answering calls from blocked numbers .. So I raised the … [Read more...] about AIB Take Logic To New Low
Cutting Student Grants Is Dumb
This morning I was listening to the news on RTE radio, as I do most weekday mornings. I was shocked to hear that our "beloved" government is considering slashing 3rd level grants. (Oddly the article I linked to suggests that the grants currently aren't means tested - they were when I had one) I attended the University of Limerick between 1994 and 1998 as an undergraduate. … [Read more...] about Cutting Student Grants Is Dumb