High wind caused one of the oldest trees in the National Botanic Gardens in Dublin to fall at around 8.20am on the morning of the 31st December 2009. The tree was on top of the rockery in the Gardens.

We spent the weekend in Istanbul in Turkey. I got to practice my negotiation skills in the Grand Bazaar. We took a boat from Europe to Asia and we walked for miles exploring the sites. It is a very interesting city. Well worth a visit.

A new coffee shop called the Art of Coffee has opened up in the tall glass building on the corner of Grand Canal Quay and Pearse Street in Dublin 2.

The owner is an award winning Barista and needless to say, the coffee is excellent. The staff are always friendly and welcoming. It's well worth a visit if you are in the area.

I just got back from San Francisco. It was cloudy in the city all the time but not in Marin County. I took this picture of the Golden Gate Bridge.

We had Japanese clients visit us at work last week. The discussion moved on to broadband quality and price in Japan. They told me that they pay around 8 Euro per month for a 100MB fibre connection to their homes.

I was slightly embarrassed to tell them that we pay 40 Euro per month for a 3MB connection.





I took the above pictures in Tokyo in 2003.

I took them to see Newgrange in Co. Meath on Saturday and they were very impressed.

I wish they could be as impressed with our broadband infrastructure as they were with our ancestors work of 5,000 years ago.

We have temporarily fostered Betty from the Ashtown pound in Dublin. She has a home in the UK to go to next week.








See Betty's page on dogsindistress.org

This was taken on my Nokia N95 camera phone to show you the view from my office window on this sunny Friday afternoon.

Watch the video here. Maybe next year.