SNOW !!!

Yes, folks, the good people here in Irish Weather Creation Ltd, a sub-group of God PLC, sent some snow our way last night. Anyone from Alaska etc. may not be that impressed, but for Ireland, particularly in the last 10 years where global warming has left us snow-less for many a winter, it is a bit unusual! In the 70s and early 80s there was lots of snow every winter, but not any more. OK, it isn't staying on the ground, but my car looked very festive this morning. Incidentally, we are having a lot of fog these days, and it has to be noted that very few drivers put on their fog lights. This is odd, as everyone has them on during clear summer evenings. Then they sit at the traffic lights wondering why every driver behind them has a big red face and squinting eyes. Maybe they go to turn them on in fog, not realising they've been on all summer, and inadvertantly turn them off?

Limerick drivers - gender divide in evidence

Yes, we all know about cheaper car insurance for women, and about young males being in the most accidents, but here's an interesting new twist on the whole gender issue:

I have noticed, particularly in Limerick city, a large discrepancy in road manners between male and female drivers. More specifically, if you are trying to cross busy traffic without having a traffic signal to assist you (for example, turning right across a flow of traffic at a junction that has no filter arrows, or pulling out of a petrol station, and so forth), chances are that the car that lets you out is driven by a man. I am unsure why women in general seem so unlikely to contribute to the smooth flow of traffic, and of course there are exceptions - normally women driving more powerful, sporting cars are much more likely to have road courtesy, perhaps because they have more interest in driving itself, and this may lead to greater awareness of cars other than their own. This seems to be the primary issue, unawareness, or lack of interest, in other road users. This is evidenced in the faces of women drivers as they come up to you sitting there waiting to turn right, with your indicator on and a look of hope on your face. They look like they don't even see you, and are thinking about something else, and the driving auto-pilot kicks in, the system that just keeps moving the car up to the back lights of the car in front every time a gap appears. On the other hand, maybe men like being courteous because it's a chance to flash their headlights (!) , but a peripheral awareness is still more apparent.

Beeping still continues...

Beeping of reversing construction vehicles still resonates around the building. Will they ever go home? I want to find out where they live, and beep outside their house all weekend. Then I'll get a rubber mallet and wallop their windows incessantly while staring in at them. After changing the colour of the building, what is left to do? Why won't they just BEEP off? I want to know what happened to all the "old" glass panels, as they would make a massive, and very well insulated, greenhouse, or a series of glass coffee tables, or something... At least we have blinds now.

ian0 to star in several concerts before Christmas

Yes, hot off the press (not the trouser press, but a metaphor referring to the temperature of physical paper being outputted with print applied as part of the publishing process), I will be headlining (once again, not a reference to the perforated plastic lining applied to the roof of a car, but a journalistic phrase) a number of gigs (not the boat commonly used as ship to shore transport in the 1700s, but a concert) over the next few months:

ULCO Concert - Cor Anglais Soloist in William Tell Overture - Rossini - 10 Dec

Galway Choral Society - Oboe soloist in Messiah - Handel - 16 Dec

New website unveiled by Maurice Bourge & Branford Marsalis in Monaco red-carpet ceremony

Yes, I have decided that everyone else in the world has a personal website, so I want one too. I created it last week, and most of what I said above is true, apart from the unveiling in Monaco, and the red-carpet ceremony, and Maurice Bourge & Branford Marsalis. It can be found here: http://richie.idc.ul.ie/~ian0/home/main.htm

Other than that, well, nothing much doing. Anyone have any rules for JS Bach melody writing or harmonisation?

Wait a minute, I KNEW there was something else! I'll start a new post, though...