Not much is new these days. We are keeping our heads down and working hard. Still trying to pay off left over Canadian debt.

Dublin is quite nice at xmas time. People on the streets are using phrases like "very cold" for temperatures about -4... haha wimps! A fall jacket and a toque is pretty much all you need for winter here in Ireland. The streets are often decorated with very nice lights. It feels very christmas-y.

Julie & I are trying to make new veg. recepies. So far we have tried two new recepies. One worked out awesome, the other so-so. I am looking forward to bringing home the good one to show everyone in Canada that we can cook great veggie recepies!

Nick & I are trying to rack our brains for revolutionary new ideas in almost any industry. Software is our specialty so, our ideas are mostly focused on software. If anyone has any computer problems that they need solutions for (that don't already exist) please let me know. It's harder than I thought to come up with ideas that haven't been done before. Currently we have an ideas board which we post to frequently. I'm hoping this blog post will send a message to the universe that we need a brilliant idea to pop into our heads. I don't care how it gets into our heads, it just needs to get there :)

I am looking forward to coming home for xmas. We are counting down the days now (26 days left). We are so excited to see the new baby!

We both miss having a dog. Our lease forbids us from having one. If that clause wasn't in our lease, we would have a dog so fast it would make your head spin! I found a great opportunity to foster dogs temporarily which would be absolutely perfect for us.

I am looking forward to all of the Canadian foods that I cant get here. The ones I miss most are: PC shrimp sauce, Havarti cheese, mac & cheese, maple syrup, potine, and Canadian beers. However, there are lots of great foods that are unique to Ireland.

ok, off to bed, don't forget to send me your ground breaking new (never existed before) software ideas.

Cya soon
Ben

More powerful Obama pics

Irish slang

The Irish have some great words or phrases that really aren't said much anywhere else in the world. Here are a few:

Craic: This is the irish word for fun... you might say "I had great craic at the bar last night". Its pronounced just like "Crack" which is pretty funny. You might also say "What's the craic?".

Thanks a million: We say this on occasion in Canada, but in Ireland I hear it 10 times a day. Its rare to hear just thanks, its always thanks a million.

Your man and your one: Your man means "that guy" and your one means "that girl". So you might hear something like "you know your man from batman" or "your one from accounting was giving me the look today".

Grand: means great. Every day when I pay for lunch and the transaction gets completed, the lunch lady says "That's grand, thanks a million".

Deadly: means really cool or awesome. You might say "that party was deadly last night".

Bollocks: just a swear word. It actually means testicles. It can be interpreted in hundreds of different ways depending on the context.

Knackered: means tired. you might say "I was knackered after my workout yesterday".

Your real age

This site is great. It takes in all your stats and gives you an estimate of your "real age".

I am 6 years younger than my calendar age because of my diet and exercise.

I need to do the following though:

• Strength training (for upper body)
• floss
• eat more omega 3
• get a dog :) (I am not kidding, it's on there)
• know my numbers (heart rate, blood pressure, cholesterol, etc)

Next time you see me, be sure to ask how I am tackeling each of these.

Enjoy

Obama!

I am so excited my man Obama won!

Here is what really happened in America last night (click to make the image bigger).

This one is priceless too: