This morning I headed out with MAD (Mountain Bike Association of Dublin) to Kindlestown and Glen of the Downs for a “quick” spin, well almost 3 hours in the end.  It was brilliant fun and the MAD gang are a great bunch of people.  Below is our route and my Run Keeper details, I am sure many of the more experienced riders got better stats, but at least you can see the route.  Also myself and two of the other lads stayed on for another 40 minutes or so to do one of the trails again.  We went through a tunnel at one stage which was cool, I took a couple of videos which you can see below along with a few photos.

I shout a bit in these videos, sorry but the adrenalin was pumping!

Here is a few pictures from the day, though most of them were taken at breaks so not too exciting!

It may seem odd to start a post with “cycling” in the title with a range of car photos but I feel I need to set the scene.  Those who know me are aware of my obsession with 4 wheeled vehicles.   As may be obvious from the smattering of photos above from my life of automobiles I have a particular soft spot for 4×4 off roaders and anything with a soft top.  Indeed it is no exaggeration to say that the amount of cars I have owned over the years would amount to small car dealership, it is well into the double digits.  When I turned 18 and got behind the wheel of a car for the first time I fell in love, cars became an obsession much like that which I now have with technology.  Once I got my first car the idea of cycling anywhere something I had done quite a lot seemed pointless.  The car was the future, this whole cycling thing is just slow and out of date I thought.  So I drove…EVERYWHERE.  I didn’t event drink on the weekends so that I could drive at night as well (my friends were delighted!).  If someone suggested we go on a road trip I would drop everything without hesitation simply for the thrill of the drive.

Now we come to 2012, I am a father of one and have settled into well a routine.  Its sad but its part of being a dad!  Also I had to cut back on car purchases (kids are expensive and worth it). I have ended up with the most sensible car I have ever owned…a Saab 93 Estate.  As sensible as it is I do love it.  Its practical, fast, cost effective to run and above all safe!  I had been toying with the idea of getting a bike for a long time and some of my friends wanted to get into the mountain biking which really helped spur me on.  So 2 weeks ago I headed off to the Cycle Inn in Tallaght and purchased myself a brand new Fuji Tahoe Comp.

Fuji Tahoe Comp

Its amazing and I love it.  I am cycling everywhere, for both leisure and work.  I have cycled out to several customers and to Google the other week (they gave me somewhere safe to keep my bike).  I also started to use Run Keeper and have clocked up over 120KM on it in the last 3 weeks.  It is a fantastic way to keep track of your exercise and I find it is also a great motivator to do both more exercise and push yourself further on certain routes etc.

When I was a kid I was really into cycling.  Myself and my cousin Bron once cycled from Dublin to Kilkenny with luggage!  We also cycled from Dublin to Dundalk at one stage as well.  We used to go cycling almost every weekend.  The use of bikes certainly seems to have increased in Ireland over the last decade and I hope it is a trend that continues.  There are far more cycle lanes and bike friendly areas now, tho there are always improvements that can be made.  I am looking forward to many more years of cycling and perhaps an obsession with bikes is on the cards who knows.  The summer is here and I shall be making the most of the good weather.

Finally, I came across a really cool Mountain Bike Club and was out with them last week at the Hell Fire Club.  We are heading to Kindlestown woods tomorrow, its in Greystowns, Co Wicklow.  The mountain biking is handy because they start early and I can be back for lunch and some time with the family.  I shall report back on how Kindlestown Wood is and hopefully get a few photos as well.

]]> http://www.finmurphy.com/2012/03/31/cycling-i-forgot-how-awesome-it-was/feed/ 0 http://www.finmurphy.com/2012/03/30/samsung-galaxy-tab-7-7-3g/ http://www.finmurphy.com/2012/03/30/samsung-galaxy-tab-7-7-3g/#comments Fri, 30 Mar 2012 11:04:24 +0000 Fintan http://www.finmurphy.com/?p=559 Continue reading →]]>

I recently purchased the Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7 3g version.  It was a difficult decision both in terms of deciding on a smaller device and then actually finding somewhere that sold them in Ireland.  I had decided on getting an Android device for work as although I am an Apple fan, with my iPhone, Mabook Air and iPad I have found that the iPad yields little additional functionality for me as a work device.  My iPad became very much a personal device that I used for games, videos, browsing the net etc.  Other people I know use their iPads for work but I think it depends on what tools you use for your job and what kind of job you have.  I work in sales and my company are Google Apps Partners so we use all of Google’s tools as well as a whole host of web based apps and the web browser on the iPad is simply not up to scratch when it comes to accessing web base documents or tools.

That was the Android decision made the next question and perhaps more complex question, was which one!  If you have ever been in the market for an Android device you will know that there is a lot of options out there.  There were two key questions that helped narrow down my choice fairly quickly.

• What did I want to use the device for?
• How would it compare to other devices I had?  eg. laptop, phone etc

These two questions bring up a host of considerations such as: size, weight, portability, connectivity, speed etc.  So what did I want this device for, well it was mainly for working on the go.  Whether that was simply being away from my desk or on a flight to London (which I do regularly).  The two other main devices I had for work were the iPhone 4 and the 11″ Macbook Air.  So a device the size of an iPad didn’t really make sense to me as it weighs almost the same (if not more) than my Macbook Air.  It had to be more portable than my 11″ laptop and more powerful than my phone, giving me additional capabilities when working remotely or generally being away from my desk.  This led me to settled on a 7-8.9″ device.  The 7″ Android tablets seemed a little too small and very much like an eBook reader and the 8.9″ although a very strong contender seemed a little close to the iPad in size and weight.  Hence I set my sites on the Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7 3G.  I went for the 3G because it was meant mainly as a device to use while travelling and I didn’t want to be thinking about tethering and wifi hotspots.  I picked mine up from Komplett.ie it was the only Irish based company that sold them and I was able to collect it within a few days.  The cost is quite high for a small tablet but I believe worth the price tag of €539 inc VAT, that is about £450 sterling.  Make sure you shop around as I found large differences in prices, I think because it is not a mainstream device and probably has a certain niche that suit some people.

If your concerned about buying a small end device your not alone.  I was worried the 7.7 would not be feel tiny after having an iPad but I found this excellent video review by Richies Room which gave a great overview of the tablet in action which really helped put my mind at ease.  One of the key items that stands out on this device is the Super Amoled Plus display.  The screen is simply phenomenal, I took a photo of the well known Angry Birds app to show off the screen display.

Angry Birds

If your looking for an Android tablet that is lightweight and portable but powerful enough to run games, watch videos and work on the move then I would highly recommend the Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7.  I have been using it now for over a month and it is one of my favorite devices.  I use it for work every single day.  The most common work related task I perform on it include:

• Reading reports and documents – the super Amoled screen and light weight make it easy to holding the device in one hand.
• Google Docs app – Now with offline access for viewing and editing documents on the go!
• Gmail app – much better features than the iOS for responding to, archiving and generally sorting emails
• Google chat and video conferencing – I have used the video conferencing in Google hangouts on the tablet several times now.  Which has been great when I am on the move.
• Accessing other web-based apps such as Smartsheets and Salesforce.

The happy customer…

In my line of work (Cloud Computing) we come across new apps practically every week.  There is always some new CRM tool, Google Apps enhancement , project management tool or mobile app.  Some of them are pretty cool and do some interesting things.  They can help you access your information easier or improve the speed at which you can complete certain tasks or maybe they allow you to do something you couldn’t do before.  However every now and then you come across an application that completely changes the way you work.  Within a short space of time  it becomes an integrale part of your working life.  Duedil is one such app I discovered it about two months ago and have been using it incessantly ever since.  Essentially it is a company search tool but with more data and better user interface than any company search site I have ever used.  It takes data that is publicly available such as: company records, financial records, directors, social media info and a whole lot more and puts in all in one place.

Duedil, short for Due Diligence.  A term used to describe the practice of checking out a companies credentials prior to doing business with them and in these current times it is not a bad idea.  Now there are a lot of website that will allow you to do checks on companies credit, background etc. They gather all the publicly available information and usually charge you a fee to join their little company search club. Duedil on the other hand is different, they have created an app that will gather all the information for you into one location and they do it all for FREE.  I have never seen data for a company and/or person displayed such a simply and easy to use user interface.  It is what the UK or Irish government company search should actually be.  However Duedil doesn’t stop at simple company info it pulls any public information it can find about an organisation or person to try to give you a full picture.  It now has over 8.5 million company profiles and counting.

There was a recent article about them in the Telegraph which gives more info on the people behind the company.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/businessclub/8875353/Meet-ten-of-the-UKs-brightest-young-entrepreneurs.html

Or you can just go ahead and try the app out.  You can sign in with your Twitter, Linkedin or Facebook account.  I suggest trying your Linkedin as it will tell you who you are connected with in that company.

http://www.duedil.com

We went to see The Artist the other week. A film by Director Michel Hazanavicius set in the 1920′s. Starring Jean Dujardin & Bérénice Bejo.

However the remarkable thing about this movie was not the who or the where but rather how. How was this movie made and perhaps why. In an era of the most remarkable advancements in technology in film and in our lives in general Michel Hazanavicius chose to create a silent movie. Well almost silent, it reminded me of the way Sin City used colour. Being mainly black and white and using colour from time to time. This use of colour and sound or rather lack there of meant that when it was used the impact was exponential.

I loved the cinematography, an old movie with new technology and the acting was fantastic, I guess without any sound it had to be.  It took a while to get used to how quiet it was but you end up getting lost in the pure artistic nature of the film.

What struck me most about the movie was how relevant it was today.  We live in an era where so many lives and businesses have been altered irrevocably by technology.  I think sometimes we forget that the best kinds of technology disrupt and that is part of why they exist.  From the day someone decided a round object would roll better to talking movies, we have been advancing the way we live our lives.  In doing so the old way can sometimes get pushed aside.  For the current generation there is no doubt that the internet is the technological disrupter.  It has changed more industries in more ways than almost any other single invention since the industrial revolution, what is more it is only getting started.

I am a major fan of technology tho I also think that we should not forget what has gone before.  The japanese seem to have a good grasp on the balance between old and new.  They have some of the oldest history of any country but they are also technological leaders.  They have found a way to balance moving forward while remembering the past and hopefully helping those still living there to come along with us.

For more info on the film and for a real review check out:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1655442/

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/filmreviews/8982562/The-Artist-review.html

So we were planning on a nice cheap lino floor for the little fella’s room.  Lets face it he is probably just going to paint it or colour it in at some stage.  So why do I have a picture of a lovely new laminate wood flooring that is clearly in his room, I am glad you asked.
It was New Years Day…we were a little worse for wear from all the DIYing during the week (and we got home at 5am!).  All that said we were determined to finish his room.  So I went in search of lino.  Not surprisingly everywhere was shit except Woodies DIY, which don’t sell lino but I went in anyway.  The nice salesman convinced me to look at lino flooring somehow!  I was muttering to myself, why am I wasting my time I am not going to spend a load of money on flooring that is just going to get wrecked.

“They are on sale” he said

“How much?” I asked with a sigh, expecting the usual 10% discount.

” 1 euro” he replied smuggley, knowing full well I was uninterested.

“What! 1 euro a piece!?” I exclaimed

“No a box” he said calmly.

I made some quick calculations based on the square footage quoted on the side of the box, I would only need three or at the most four boxes!  Well the rest as they say is history.  In the end it took less than three boxes.  The cheapest floor in the house!

First came the frame which laid out the main structure and support for the walls and doors which were MDF.

Once we had the frame in place, which took longer than anticipated and several trips to the attic we began fitting the side walls.  It was finally beginning to look like something.

The doors were probably the hardest to get right and we left those til day two.  It took skill, a chair, a box and a piece of wood to dangerously balance the doors on while fitting them.  They’re not perfect, but I don’t think Ruairi will notice.

While we were busily constructing our waredrobe Les and Ru were out purchasing nice things in IKEA to fit inside.  And boy did they fit.  The IKEA shelving unit was exactly 80CM across and we had exactly 80 CM of space…it just fit inside.  Lets hope we never have to remove it because it won’t be coming out without a fight.

Finally we got the shelves in, walls up, doors on (and working) and the whole thing painted.  All in all it took 2+ days but it was well worth it and I really enjoyed building something with my Dad, for my son.  There was something nice about the shift from one generation to another.  When I was a kid I remember my Dad building stuff in our house and being his little helper.  Now he was helping me build something for my son.  For a short moment a strange thought past through my mind, I saw myself helping Ruairi make something in his home 20 or 30 years from now.  Life as they say has a habit of repeating itself.

It was our first real Halloween with Ruairi this year. Last year he was in a little Pumpkin outfit and had absolutely no idea what was going on. This year we attempted to put him into a spider costume but that ended in tears. So he joined his Daddy as a gangster (see below).

Daddy lookin gangster!

The Crew

Its our first proper family holiday since the little fella graced us with his presence.  We have decided to stay within Irish territory.  Mainly so we can bring the other members of our little family namely Cooper n Mojo…see below. They have been enjoying the beach, mountains and sun.

It was a long journey down…6 hours!  But we all took turns, Ruairi even drove for a little while.

We had an exciting first day, we found a cafe with a Enchanted Garden, a diver at the Bell tower, drove up a mountain to admire the Valentia views (car almost didn’t make it).   We even found a secluded little beach where Ruairi discovered sand and the cold sea for the first time.  Exciting times and more to come this holiday.

The Enchanted Garden

The first adventure into the sea…not too happy

Sand…interesting substance

Dave the Diver…random

The Blue Lagoon

Lesleys Birthday Cake

So this weekend was Lesleys 25th birthday.  The quarter century club.  Myself and Sarah Jane took it upon ourselves to organise a surprise birthday party.  These are alot more stressful than one might think.  Organising an event is hard enough without having to keep it a secret from someone.  Problems arouse right from the beginning when Lesley asked ” Who are you texting”  to which I replied “Eh,emmm…eh…Sarah?!”  Got away with that one by saying we were discussing her birthday present.  Score!  During the week there was  closed party shops,  people telling her about the party while at another party tho Les has no recollection of this and on the day in question I actually bump into her at Tesco’s while I was buying party supplies!! FUCK!  Talked my way out of that one with “Bread, we needed bread!”

Alas none of this lead Lesley to believe there was indeed a surprise party in her honor being schemed right under her nose.  No she was oblivious to it all, oblivious that is until I moved the clothes horse!  That my friends was a step too far.  It was not the cleaning of the house, the power-hosing of the back yard hours before we had to go out, no I tidied away the clothes horse.  Mistake numbero uno!  Why did he do that Lesley thought to herself.  She settled on “He must really hate those clothes horse”.

At 7pm on Friday I took her out for our meal and she was still blissfully unaware of the many people no doubt en route to our house.  The meal went on a bit longer than we had planned, Sarah had a few minor mishaps (eg Fin left money lying around the house and couldn’t remember where) but in the end we pulled it off.

As we rounded the corner of Lealand Grove Lesley was greeted with great Surprise to all of her friends standing outside our house with a large banner wishing her a Happy Birthday.

She was very surprised and we all had an amazing night.  I am very grateful to everyone who came and especially to Sarah Jane, my partner in crime who helped organise everyone.  Despite the trauma of keeping secrets from the wonderful Lesley for a  few weeks it was all worth it just to see the smile on her face when she saw everyone was there just for her.

With all the bad surprises Ireland has had in 2009 I think 2010 should be the year of surprise parties, celebrating all that is awesome in our lives.  If you can think of a reason to party then go right ahead and if your friend doesn’t want one…well that’s a surprise waiting to happen isn’t it!