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Attempted robbery a good start to the weekend

An uplifting experience today I thought worth sharing. I skip down the steps of the Luas station at Charlemont, on the way in to a gathering of colleagues at the Storyful office. Wrestle a ball of keys from my pocket to unlock me bike, when BAM! No bike! Hands to head. *Curses* Noooo! Couldn't be gone. Did I walk from work yesterday? No. Did I not lock it properly? No. *Curses*. *Curses*. Fuckers.

Balanced care approach needed for mental health

We need to strike a balance between community-based and hospital care in our mental health services. By Justin Frewen and Dr. Anna Datta

The majority of economically 'developed' countries have experienced three main stages in the evolution of mental health careThe first one, between 1880 and 1995, was dominated by the concept of providing treatment in 'asylums', large medical institutions that were generally located far from the patients' communities.

Life Imitates Art? Part II

The metamorphic transformations inflicted on their human victims by Ovid's capricious gods have serious or even fatal consequences. When Jove's wife Juno, jealous of Callisto's relationship with her husband, changes her into a bear, Callisto is forced to wander alone for many years, still in possession of her human feelings but trapped in a bear-like form. After fifteen years she runs into her own son Arcas, who fails to recognise his mother. He is only prevented from killing her by the intervention of Jove, who turns them both into neighbouring constellations.

Noteworthy saving on iPad2

The automated answer system down at O2 command centre in Clare is right up there in the dulcet-o-meter. But wouldn't it be great if they had Shyrka? A quick Wikipeda tells me that Kelly Ricard was cast as Shyrka in the English version of Ulysees. Someone in O2 should look her up. I might be inclined to call more.

Life Imitates Art? Part I

All art is at once surface and symbol

Those who go beneath the surface do so at their peril

Those who read the symbol do so at their peril

It is the spectator, and not life, that art really mirrors.

Oscar Wilde (The Picture of Dorian Gray Preface)

The concept of metamorphosis has provided a rich vein of material for artists throughout history. Hundreds of artistic and literary works have benefited from characters gifted with shape altering abilities or who have been cursed to involuntarily change their form.

Humanism and Darwin Day

Saturday next, the 12th of February, will mark the 202nd anniversary of Charles Darwin's birth and 152 years since the publication of On the Origin of Species. Every year organisations around the world celebrate this day by commemorating the works and life of Darwin. However, Darwin Day is also an occasion for highlighting the significant achievements brought about by the application of human inquisitiveness, resourcefulness, and ingenuity in improving all our lives.

Ireland is no exception in this respect.

Closer to Boston than Berlin

The last two weeks have seen a flurry of government members fleeing the political field. Whether one is cynical and attributes this with reference to the old adage regarding the reluctance of rodents to remain aboard the sinking political vessel of the state or fear of a vengeful electorate, the exodus is striking. Fortunately, those decamping have had their loss of employment and return to the 'real world' softened by liberal financial parachutes.

The Socio-Economic Realities of Health in Ireland Part 2 - Tackling Health Inequalities

According to a 2008 report by the Commission on the Social Determinants of Health, 'Social injustice is killing people on a grand scale.' Justin Frewen and Anna Datta examine the health effects of inequality, and argue that an equitable health service alone is not enough to ensure equal health for all.

(A longer version of this article originally appeared as The Socio-Economic Realities of Health on Tasc's website in December.)

Cool tools for data visualisation

Stanford school of journalism made this video report demo'ing some great tools for online journalists and bloggers to present data in cool ways. They talk about Moodle, Swivel and a new tool that non-techies can customise for deep data analysis such as election results. 

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