Blurred Keys

"Only democracy can end the crisis in Nepal, but the US, EU and India back the king and his attempts to crush the Maoist uprising"

A view of the Ox Mountains from League
graveyard in Ballina.

Our local paper, the Western People, was kind enough to republish one of our photos of an otter. However, the photo went with a rather different story then the one told by the person who asked us to send the photos to the Western.

The otter in the photo had managed to it make over land from the river Moy in Ballina to part of the Killala Road more then ten minutes from the river. After it ended up in our back garden, we were told it was earlier spotted coming in this direction. An otter, possible another, was also spotted near St Patrick’s church, and returned to the river. We were told that their home on a bank of the Moy was interrupted by some kind of construction.

In the Western, the story most likely followed another otter, which was seen on the other side of Ballina and the river, at Riverside Drive, on the Quay Road. The story (image not published online) centred on “Ollie the otter” biting a man as he was “coming back from town when the otter ran out in front of him. After a time he realised it was not a cat and he got his camera”.

Sorry, now, that’s just not on. Who would an innocent reader think had taken the accompanying photo? Without any photo credits, obviously the person who was bit.

We have little interest in being credited; we sent the image to the newspaper unaccredited on request of a third party. But publishing the photo with this story is downright misleading. It’s not an amazingly important story, but if one can’t get it right at a simple level…

Let’s get this clear, the photo in question was taken in our back garden by this writer (not the person who got bitten), with three of our dogs in the back ground, and not on the other side of town from where the “Ollie the otter” apparently bit someone.

The above image, differs from the one published in the newspaper, we have the original images of the otter and used a slightly different close-up section here then what we sent them.

What it means to be Irish, in words on photos on Flicker, vie here

Dogs, say hello to Mr Otter… now, say good bye…

Blurred Keys is not messing – the vast major
of our contact with the company has now been positive, or extremely positive,
this time our broadband connection is working the day the new modem arrived;
that’s nine days before they said it would be working.

In other news, while trying not to make
this weblog too personal, old Blurred is apparently* off to collage after summer.
So, it’s the big smoke as a mature student, and the end result is apparently
going to be some kind of hack. Meanwhile, to save money, it’s back in the parent’s
house after just moving out last year, and working a six-day-week. Err!

* must fill in form, must send off deposit

Today FM news nearly got me there, with the day that’s in it and all - but that went a bit too far!
Download main.smil

To add to context and detail to this ‘moblog’; Originally posted from work, that’s why the above was kept
short... Today FM’s over-the-top April Fool’s prank didn’t actually “nearly get me” –
I just caught the end of the news and genuinely believed I had misheard what was
said. Within 30 seconds of after the news, I was thinking, “this kind of news doesn’t
happen on Saturdays”, with ‘Saturday’, I remembered what date it was.

Anyway, their fairytale made out that, for freer
trade /movement within the EU, Ireland is to change the side of road we drive on… and in
a twist to the classic, the phasing in of this would first happen around Dublin
and then around the country. The classic I know of ends with ‘and truck drivers
will be allowed to continue driving on the left for some time’.

AND on a general blogging note, thanks to IrishEyes for inadvertently reminding me of
TypePad’s mobloging feature – last time I tried it my phone end with messed up
web setting… and I have switched to O2… all mobloging pictures will be taken
with a Sony Ericsson W800i, for now, at least.

…someone said ‘was I?’, so, I have.