TEDx Dublin

Went to TEDx talks yesterday in the Bord Gais Energy Theatre (now renamed Grand Canal Theatre). Highlight of the event was hearing about Quantum Locking - it's worth googling!!  But overall I was underwhelmed by the event.

Fiona Newell spoke about beauty and perception.  All very predictable and didn't hear anything I didn't know.  She also put up the ugliest picture of Brad Pitt to illustrate beauty!!! Baffling!!!

I expected to enjoy Surfer Easkey Britton's talk but I found it bland and pointless.  It was wishy washy giving us no details about why or how she ended up doing what she has been up to - Surfing in Iran.  She did let us know (a few times) that she is at one with the ocean, however, and also how spiritual surfing is.

When Constantin took to the stage the TEDx talks began to get better.....the Soviet Rockstar Evonomist spoke about Human Capital and I found it to be a very interesting and stimulating presentation.

To say I was wowed by Dave Smith was an understatement - listening to this guy makes you feel like you can do ANYTHING!

What's not to love about the work of Sean Love......but is TEDx Dublin the place to hear about it?

Hmmm this talk was a big miss for me.  The talk was very superficial, low on detail and the speaker lost her way a few times. 

A serious scientist who competently spoke about the work that he does. Very interesting and entertaining.

Although not the best speaker in the world, I was pleasantly surprised by Chef Thornton's presentation. Insightful and thought provoking, his passion exuded through his dour accent.  He even told some funny anecdotes that got big laughs from the audience. Along with his stunning photographs, Thorntons presentation was one of the better speeches (this doesn't reflect well on some of the other speakers).

Tongue in cheek talk about vampires - No Thank You.  Far too many "in jokes".  Is it wrong to expect serious speakers about serious topics at TEDx?

Cathal's speech was one of the best at this event.  He is a very impressive guy and I love the fact that he freely shares the work he does - including the plans for a printable centrifuge.  

But it then begs the question why is he speaking at an event that has a cost of 30 odd euro attached to it?  Which further begs the question, should TEDx Dublin talks not be free for all to attend???

Penultimate speaker - I was losing the will to live and unfortunately had lost interest at this point.  Mildly humorous and very loud, Robin Ince did little to draw me back.

Lisa Domican developed an app to allow people with autism communicate. Ms. Domican seemed like a very driven person who you would not want to cross.  Australian by birth she now lives in Ireland with her husband and two children (both who have autism).

Childhood Treasures - Fisher Price Kodak Camera

Nearly 30 years ago in about 1985, I received a camera for Christmas from Santa.

It was a children's Fisher-Price camera made by Kodak and it took 110 film and it's flash involved attaching a strip of cube bulbs to it.

Out of all my childhood possessions it is the one that has still survived and I still have today.

It was a chunky camera, solidly made to allow for dropping and rough handling by children with rubber ends in order to protect it.

To wind on the film there was a large yellow slider on the underside.

And when you took a photo there was a satisfying click as you pressed the button.

Film was loaded in to the back of the camera.  There is still a roll of film in my camera but the pictures would be ruined as the film has been exposed to the light over the years.

A safety feature on the cord allowed for quick opening in case of emergencies.  This was in order to prevent strangulation accidents, I presume.

Here (black catch)  is where the strip flash was connected to 

Having a camera was a novelty for children in the '80's in Ireland and on school trips, and the like, sometimes I was the only child in the class who took photos.

Taking photos on film was quite the adventure before digital as you all know.  It involved a serious process of buying the film from the chemist, taking 24 careful snaps over a few months.  You would then return the film to the chemist for development.  In 2 weeks, or so, you would collect the photos and nervously take them out of the wallet and hopefully there would be lots of nice pics.  More than likely there would a few blurry efforts that would be binned but if you got 20 good pics you would be happy.

As well as being time consuming, film development was quite costly so photos were generally taken at special occasions in my house and not wily nily!

I hope you enjoyed this post! Do you have memories of taking photos before digital? Do let me know in the comments below.

I'd also love to hear from anyone who had seen this camera before or knew of someone who owned one.

Thanks for reading!

Today's Irish Times

The Gloss, Interiors magazine is in today's Irish Times.  ODKM Architectural Practice along with our house is profiled in an article.  

Bones even gets a mention!

Mmmm meringue!

So cupcakes are out and meringues are in!

I have to agree!

My favourite dessert is Eton Mess - crushed meringues mixed with whipped cream and strawberries.  Have you ever eaten it?

I serve my Eton Mess in retro ice cream dessert bowls. I plan on buying mini Kilner jars and serving it in them for a cute funky look!

See below pic for inspiration 

Brrr it's cold

The weather turned over the weekend.  At the moment it is 4 degrees celcius (about 40 degrees Fahrenheit).  It is forecast to get up to 18 today but somehow I just don't believe it.

The good news that the weather is expected to improve for next weekend.  I really hope so as Flight Fest is on in Dublin City and good weather is badly needed for that.  

Flight Fest is a 3 hour spectacle where the largest and most unique planes in the world will be doing low flybys along the river Liffey.  I am really looking forward to it!  Here is some information about the event.

Dillingers with my sis!

It's been awhile since I've been in Dillingers (prob 8 weeks or so) and in the time since I've last been they have slightly rejigged their menu.

Sadly the mini corn dogs are off the menu - my sister and I thought they were such a fun item.  They also have no corn bread which we miss.

Last night we split a portion of mac & cheese (now served in a smaller bowl), crab cakes (disapointing and over priced at €9 for 3 crab "balls") and a portion of chilli fries.

Personally I love Dillingers for a casual Tuesday night but I would not recommend it for a special Saturday night meal out.

My twin sister and I like to sit at the bar, enjoy the atmosphere and have a good natter while we eat out food.  A nice chilled out meet up spot in the locality.

New retainer time

I was badly overdue a new set of retainers so on the advice of my dentist I made an appointment with Dr. Paul Dowling in the Beechwood Dental Clinic on Friday.

After sitting in to Dr. Dowling's chair I had a look around his modern office.  It was a lovely day and he had a sliding door open to a lovely little bamboo walled in city garden - adorable.  I joked that it would be a great place for a lunch time cocktail :-)  His nurse quipped that the drinks area was around the corner!

After showing Dr. Dowling my old retainers he talked me through options for new ones.  He then went on to take impressions for my new retainers.  That pink stuff they use to take impressions is repulsive and I gagged a little as I waited the short while for it to set (maybe a minute, or so).

I'm embarrassed to show a picture of my old retainers but for posterity here they are:

My new retainers will be ready for collection in a few weeks - I can't wait to get them and to get the rid of the old ones.  Hopefully I get a good few years out of the new ones!

BTW, as an aside, when I got my braces off about 12 years ago I was told I would have to wear retainers regularly for about 5 years.  However after 5 yrs I left them off for 1 night.  The next evening when I put them on they were difficult to get on and were very tight - my teeth had moved!!! Since that time I religiously wear my retainer every night and will continue to do so for the rest of my life.  Your teeth constantly want to revert back to their original position - I don't want that to happen!!!