Prototype of a Person

Age Discrimination?

Recently I noticed that a number of Spar newsagents in Dublin City Centre have introduced a policy of only selling alcohol to persons over the age of 21. Despite the Intoxicating Liquor Act 2003 stating that the legal age for the purchase of alcohol is 18.

The argument here is always: management of licensed premises have the right to refuse admission to a person under the age of 21 (or in some places 23). However, the law is different with regards to the actual sale of alcohol in off licences; the law clearly states that 18 is the legal age for the purchase of alcohol.

In my opinion their “store policy” is similar to some retail stores that state that their refund policy covers only 14 days or that they only issue credit notes (or vouchers) as refunds - in other words, their “store policy” is completely invalidated by the law.

This reminds me of the policy that Tesco supermarkets have; to only accept an Age Card as a valid form of photo ID. Despite the Intoxicating Liquor Act 2003, SECTION 15 clearly stating that an “age document” (a document containing a photograph of the person and information that enables the age of the person to be determined) can be any of the following: an age card (aka Garda ID), a passport, an identity card issued by a member state of the European Communities or a driver licence.

The question is, by not selling alcohol to a person that is over the age of 18 and has a legal document to prove so, are they breaking the law?

Personally Spar isn’t a problem for me, as I am over the age of 21. However, with regards to Tesco no longer accepting my Passport… I had a nasty incident in a Tesco supermarket locally, where I argued with the staff that their notices read “If you are under 21 you must show a valid Garda age Card” and being as I am over 21 I did not have to produce a Garda Age Card - and yet they still refused to accept my Passport as proof that I was over 21. Very annoying. I’ll be bringing my business elsewhere from now on.

There is an article on Checkout.ie if you want more information.

The Creative Zen V

I just had the wonderful pleasure of doing some market research with a representative from Creative, who let me play around with their new range of Creative Zens, the Creative Zen V. It’s basically a mini Creative Zen MicroPhoto, but they will also have a version that can play video. On a screen that small, I can’t see why they would include that feature…

It looks like Creative are targeting the iPod Nano market with this little number, and if they market it correctly (and Apple don’t release a new type of Nano) they’ll be onto a little winner. Emphasis on the little.

It will come in 1gb, 2gb and 4gb. Creative have removed the FM Radio feature, which will only feature on the V Plus model (for an extra €20), I think this is an error on their side as one of the benefits of owning a Creative Zen over an iPod is the ability to switch to the radio function. It looks cool (it’s completely black this time, no white battery cover this time thank god) and it feels nice and snug in your hand - and it definitely feels more sturdy and reliable (if you per chance drop it) than the iPod Nano.

Instead of the touch pad there is now a small joystick, which reminded me of the joystick on the Nokia 6600, it’s soft under your thumb, unlike other joysticks that feature on mp3 players such as the Cowan iAudio X5. They’ve added a volume control button to the side of the player, which definitely makes it more user friendly in comparison to the Zen Micro Photo.

A stand-out feature is the abilty to rotate your screen to orientate it to your preferred viewing point. It also features line-in encoding (so you can record music directly from a CD player or other playback source with the supplied line-in cable) technically you don’t even need a computer to store your music, and of course they’ve included the voice recording facility.

I do have some negative feedback, however.

4gb is not enough, personally I like carrying a full 8gb (or more) worth of music with me. The headphones you get with Creative mp3 players are horrible. They’re just so 90’s. They don’t fit into your ear snuggly and the sound quality is dire. Also, asking consumers to pay an extra €20 for a radio and video function is laughable, not many people are likely to want a video function on a screen so small and with a player with such a small capacity. The extra brings the price closer to the price of an iPod Nano and some people may opt for the iPod because of their popularity and “reputation”. Despite these drawbacks, it’s a possibility that I will actually buy one, or buy one as a present.

It’s set to hit the Irish market just on time for Christmas, but with the 1gb model retailing at around €100 it should be a fast seller.

Ireland: according to the CIA

I was fortunate enough to get Sufjan Stevens tickets this week, right before it sold out (he’s playing in the Olympia in November). I’m lucky I remembered that the tickets were going on sale, as the heat this week has really melted my brain.

Thankfully though the “heat wave” has finally begun to subside. Waking up on Tuesday at 8am to find it’s already 22′c is not pleasant, apparently it was the hottest day of the century (so far), with temperatures reaching 30′c here in Dublin. The horror. This kind of freakish weather always make me ponder global warming, I was so worried in fact that I actually rejoiced when it started to rain yesterday.

Since I’m having a rant about Ireland I might as well mention the CIA World Factbook. Which contains various facts about every country in the world, the most interesting fact on Ireland that I found was: as of 2003 the annual electricity generated in Ireland was 23.41 billion kWh. That figure is the lowest when compared to other European countries.

It’s no wonder that we import so much gas, and why the state agency Forfas is promoting Nuclear Power - which is actually insane considering how radioactive the Irish Sea already is because of 1 Nuclear Power plant, that isn’t even IN Ireland.

Nuclear Power is like a “get rich quick scheme”, it seems like an obvious and easy solution to a country’s energy crisis, but all get rich quick schemes involve some kind of illicit activities. If only someone could wake up and realise that we are sitting on a gold mine of electrical power, and it comes from the 4 elements that nature provides for us: wind, water, earth and sun. We’ve plenty of those, so why not use them? Yes, the initial setup costs would be expensive, but the after-care costs of Nuclear Power are far greater.

Another interesting fact that I read in the CIA World Factbook: the ethic groups residing in Ireland are; Celtic and English. I think this needs a dramatic overhaul, from personal experience working in Dublin, almost 80% of my customers are neither Celtic OR English.

The “fun” of camping in Ireland.

Oxegen was good fun. It rained from the moment we got there until late Sunday afternoon, but it didn’t stop us enjoying ourselves. I spent a considerable amount of time inside my tent on Saturday because of the rain, but as usual, Jen kept my spirits high. I can’t think of anyone else I’d rather be stuck in a tent with. We caught the Strokes (who I think were better the first time I saw them play) and the Who (I was surprised by how many of their songs I actually know) on Saturday, and a few bands on Sunday - the highlight being Placebo and the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

I didn’t enjoy camping this year, because of the rain and high winds. Next year I’m just going to get a taxi home, seeing as my house is only 20 minutes away. Camping is definitely going on my hate list. Camping in Ireland is just too unpredictable. On Sunday morning I was horrifed to find many tents (and rain covers) had blown away in the wind, I was just thankful that I was paranoid enough to really pin ours down. Most of the pegs broke and the tent was (sadly) unsalvagable, and I left it there. It’s probably a pile of ash somewhere in Punchestown.

So… I learnt something at the weekend - I’m getting old.

I really missed my home comforts - like dry clothes! We bought new jumpers there, surprisingly cheap too. Another thing that made me realise I’m getting old - an argument I had with some “men” selling Meteor Ponchos - which are actually given out free at the beginning of the festival, they were selling them for €5. I pointed it out to one of these “men” and got verbally abused, by a grown “man”. Now that I think of it, I also had a gripe with a stall there that sold me a pint of milk for €4. I always had the understanding that selling milk at a premium is actually illegal.

GOD! I really am getting old.

Oxegen Festival

I didn’t get the job in O2 Retail. I was “shortlisted” but based on my references I wasn’t the person they chose to fill the position. I’m disappointed, but I have started working more hours in work, with some extra hours in the Ilac Shopping Centre (which is disgusting!) Ohwell… at least I’ve something to look forward to…

Jen and I are heading off to Oxegen this weekend.

The line-up last year was actually amazing - Green Day, Foo Fighters, Audioslave, Queens of the Stone Age, Keane etc., I had an amazing time. This year the line-up isn’t half as good, only because I’ve seen most of the headline bands already - James Brown, The Strokes, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Franz Ferdinand, Kaiser Chiefs and Placebo. It shall be fun and frolics in the campsite though, and there are a few bands I’m really looking forward to seeing for the first time - The Feeling, We Are Scientists and Artic Monkeys for instance.

Right now I’m trying to figure out how to fit camping gear for 4 people into a 2 door sports car. How very annoying. But driving there is far better than having to break your back carrying camping gear to a bus stop. Horray! for Christine who shall be our chauffeur for the weekend, she has even promised a trip into Naas for breakfast on Sunday morning. How delightful!

Story of a pizza man

I ordered a gigantic 20inch pizza last night, as my house was full of drunken people that were in need of nourishment. It was supposed to be delivered in 30 minutes, after 40 minutes the delivery man rang me for directions to my house, he sounded like he was close, so I went outside to have a look out for him.

While outside I noticed this rather expensive looking car, driving backwards around the corner, driving backwards towards me, driving… BANG! right into my neighbour’s car. It was only when the guy driving the car jumped out and said “Pizza! I’ve got your pizza!” that I realised it was the pizza delivery man. He said he would “Leave a note” and I gave him far too much money and just ran away, into my house.

Last night was… well… interesting.

This morning I took a look at the car, not much damage was done, and the guy was true to his word, he left his name and number. But I’m still annoyed at myself for accidentally giving him a HUGE tip… he didn’t just crash his car into my neighbour’s car… the pizza was late!

High Heeled Keys

Happy July, by the way. I’ll miss you June.
Below is the poster I made for an upcoming showcase gig for a friend of mine, Stacey Kavanagh. Check out the gig, she’s a great singer, piano player and songwriter.

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