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Merry Christmas

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The season’s upon us, and everybody is gearing up for Christmas. This has thrown Whamageddon back in focus, as pubs, shops and malls play festive songs all day long.   But! As as a cultured individual (you’re reading this, after all) you might occasionally get sick of hearing Wham, Mariah and Slade for the gazillionth time and be on the lookout for something else. Fear not, dear reader! I have assembled an alternative catalogue of Christmas songs for you to enjoy and consider that THIS is all you wanted for Christmas. Let’s get started!  5. The Business- Bollocks to Christmas. Long time staples of the scene, The Business are a household name in punkland.  They formed in 1979 and stuck around until their frontman Micky Fitz died of lymph gland cancer in 2016.  While most of their songs deal with typical punk topics such as criticism of the government and the struggles of life in modern society, their most famous song, or biggest hit if you will, is the football anthem “England 5 - Germ
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Please don't go

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As most of you know by now, I have recently started a new job and left Google after 7 years. The question that I get from a lot of people is: Why? Google is generally regarded as a very desirable company to work for and people don’t understand why I would give up a senior job at a company like that. Well, like most of these things, it’s complicated. That is why I wanted to write this so that you have the whole picture. There have been several factors that have influenced this decision, and to make sure that it is clear to everyone, I’ll explain all of them. Let’s get started.  The seven year itch The term seven year itch is normally used for married couples who have gotten bored of each other and therefore decide to end the marriage. Apparently, this happens disproportionately often around the 7 year mark. I personally think that you can apply this theory to the workplace too. I have no personal frame of reference, or any official statistics to back me up, because I never worked anyw
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The Culchies guide to Dublin

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  The Culchies guide to Dublin Last Sunday, I was walking down the street, on my way to the pub, when a guy in a Kilkenny hurling shirt walked up behind me and shouted “UP THE CATS!!!”  at the top of his lungs at about 4 inches from my ears because he saw someone across the street who was also wearing a Kilkenny shirt. When I told him that he should not shout in a stranger’s ears he looked at me dumbfounded. I told him that he was not in the countryside anymore and that there were other people around. He mumbled an apology and went on his way. It then dawned on me that these out-of-towners that come to Dublin for special occasions aren’t used to city life, and that these country people aren’t always prepared for Dublin, or know how to behave. (For those not entirely familiar with Irish slang- a culchie is someone who lives in Ireland but does not have a Dublin postal code. In general, the further you live from Dublin, the more of a culchie you are.) As an upstanding citizen of Dublin
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