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Messages - Lar Naparka

#4216
General discussion / Re: ' Lost Posters of 2007'
November 20, 2008, 12:09:02 PM
Quote from: Our Nail Loney on November 20, 2008, 11:44:55 AM
So who all has got the chop then??

Evil Genius... any others?

I know Shitzroy, Stranworst, Hitmaster, Denver Mayobridge but that is because I know these posters!!  ;)
Are you sure EG has been banned?
I'd be very surprised if he has been because he is far too clever to leave himself open to breaching board rules.
I know he is a master wind up merchant and must get a lot of fun out of stirring up hotheads on the 'other' side.
Janey! Where does he get the time to put together some of his posts?
I'm not saying I agree with his views most of the time but I sure admire the way he can structure an argument and then sit back and wait for intemperate responses from the usual quarters.
I'd really be most surprised if he ever let himself run foul of the mods; that lad doesn't need personal abuse or libelous statements to make his points.
#4217
GAA Discussion / Re: O Mahoney gets extra 2 years.
November 02, 2008, 11:22:48 AM
Good God, Moysider, you shouldn't do that to me!
I haven't been keeping up to speed with Mayo affairs lately and when I saw the topic title; I said "Proper order!" ;D
Anyway, he's back and I sincerely wish him and Mayo football in general the very best of luck. I've no problem at all in doing that.
I'm going to keep my head low after this post until I see some signs of positive progress. I've been behind Mayo in bad years and even worse than bad years for close on 50 years and this year for me was the absolute pits. I need to get a life and stop wondering when Johnno is going to give us another gaffe.
With regard to Mac, I never denied the manager the right to pick his panel and I still don't.
I think there was more to that particular story than was made public. Maybe Mac is a contrary customer and maybe O'Mahony has a fragile ego. Who knows?
The manner in which he handled Mac's omission did concern me. I know that his waffling about needing to close off the panel and then declaring that the way was still open for Mac and anyone else to play themselves into contention did worry some of the panellists.
One need not refer to any individual player here; it could have been Jimmy Nallen, Heaney, Gardiner or any established team member. To me, there was flawed judgement involved and the litany of bad decisions to follow, as Barney (I think) called it, is indeed a long and disheartening one.
I sure hope to God he proves me wrong and shows that he does know the difference between his proboscis and his posterior in the years ahead.
For the next few months at least, I'm going to leave him alone; my poor head can't take any more. ;D

#4218
General discussion / Re: Teachers get it handy!
October 31, 2008, 11:53:15 PM
Quote from: The Real Laoislad on October 13, 2008, 10:48:28 PM
Teachers are a pain in the hole..For ever complaining about the hours they work  ::) and how stressfull their jobs are  ::)
As if they had the most important job known to man and no other occupation was stressful...  ::)
As for the hours they work  ::) Give me a f**king break


Jeez, LL, you are having one hell of a bad hair day!
You might be writing too fast or else I'm reading too slow but you've lost me in places.
Maybe you'd give us some more detail.
When did you actually hear a teachers complaining about the hours they work?
I don't recall that ever been said anywhere, any time. What the hell passes for education in Laois? They sure complain about how stressful their jobs are, as youseem to be saying about your own job right now!
Did you ever stop to think about the amount of work and missed dinners that go into Cumann na mBunscol? You can add in lots of other extracurricular activities where teachers don't get overtime, travelling expenses or stay on after hours to give some kids extra tuition or every other thing they take on after hours. That's all voluntary unpaid work and still lots of teachers take it on year after year.
You mean that educating the young and the vulnerable is not an important job? I doubt if you ever heard any teacher denying that other jobs are not stressful either.
Go on, admit it; your toolbox was nicked today by one of them @@##@ Traveller fellas you keep going on about, wasn't it?   ;D
#4219
Well, we could start a bidding war amongst the burger barons and say we're gonna call it Supermac Stadium. Then we'd wait and see if any of them comes up with enough dosh to make us think of changing it. ;D
#4220
General discussion / Re: The 2008 US Election thread
October 30, 2008, 09:42:13 PM
Quote from: J70 on October 30, 2008, 01:16:19 AM
Quote from: Owenmoresider on October 30, 2008, 01:09:43 AM
Sadly it looks like Barack Hussein Obama is headed for the White House now. Can't see even the finest hanging chads preventing that.


Let's hope so. I dread the thought of another Republican president, particularly with that stomach-turning Palin second in command. The race will tighten up in the last few days though. Obama is not there yet.
No, he certainly isn't.
A number of Americans have pointed out to me that old habits and prejudices are hard to ignore in Uncle Sam's land. When the average white American is on the point of hitting the button or checking the tick box or what ever needs to be done, he or she may just think long and hard about voting for someone who is not of their race and background.
It's at that final moment, when the die is about to be cast, that doubts may kick in.
By now I'd imagine that every person who has decided to go out and vote will also have decided which candidate he or he will vote for.
Every McCain backer will very likely vote as intended but the Obama camp are privately worried that some of their declared supporters may have a change of heart in the privacy of the ballot booth. 
#4221
Quote from: magpie seanie on October 20, 2008, 02:02:42 PM
I know. I read it earlier. Its unmissable at this stage. Cringeworthy in a Sarah Palin kind of way.
Quote from: magpie seanie on October 20, 2008, 02:02:42 PM
I know. I read it earlier. Its unmissable at this stage. Cringeworthy in a Sarah Palin kind of way.
I regret to learn that Nace O'Dowd has passed away.
I was never privileged to see him play as I was only a gossoon when he retired but he was long remembered by those who did.
By all accounts, he was a gentleman, on and off the field, and he always gave 100% in every game he played.
Players like him soldiered on, year after year, without any realistic hopes of winning any major prizes but this didn't stop them giving their best.
Packy McGarty and Cathal Flynn from Leitrim also belong in that category as does Roscommon's Gerry O'Malley.
Ray Tully was another Sligo man who gave great service to his county. Can anyone here tell me anything about Ray?
#4222
General discussion / Re: what would you do?
October 23, 2008, 11:07:15 PM
I always knew where the line was drawn and was generally too fond of myself to go too far across it. What I found much harder to bear was sarcasm and I got plenty of that from the s.o.b who was my teacher for far too long. IMO, one day would have been too long as far as that twit was concerned.
Whatever was missing from his childhood, he sure bore a grudge against children, unless their parents or some other adult was within earshot. I certainly felt an odd clatter on the lug at home did me far less emotional damage than this creature's deliberate taunting and sneering.  I have yet to meet any other past pupil of his who didn't wish to have him anchored to the grate of hell's fire or something similar.
The fool who coined the phrase, "Sticks and stones may break my bones but names will never harm me," never attended the same f**king national school that I went to. ;)
#4223
General discussion / Re: what would you do?
October 23, 2008, 01:54:30 PM
Quote from: mannix on October 23, 2008, 12:11:15 PM
lar na parka,
i have faith in your view. The question is this, on seeing a man abusing a small child what do you do?
Hitting the father is hardly the answer but its an option if he hits the child after you give him a verbal warning.  I am not aggressive by nature but hate to see any sort of abuse to an innocent victim.
The question still stands very tall,
Would you say or do something or is it best not to get involved?
For the record, police were not an option for me,no mobile phone.

No problem, mannix, I was not directly replying to your original question earlier.
I couldn't resist replying to ros when he seemed to imply that any sort of complaint to the authorities would lead to the child being taken into custody and reared in a foster home.
Maybe I am taking things up wrong here but I don't think so.
What I'd do in your situation would depend very much on the circumstances; there's no point in saying I'd lay into the guy or that I'd turn away and pretend that I saw nothing either.
I think I'd let the man know I witnessed the incident and wasn't impressed by what I saw. How I'd do that depends on the circumstances. I would also take a quick summing up here; did anyone else witness the incident and what would be the probable reaction of the father?
A few years ago I would have told him directly but right now I can't afford to get involved in a row if I can help it. I need a walking stick to get around.
I think I'm big enough and strong enough to discourage most from trying to directly attack me but I can do without undue stress of any sort.
As well as that, would directly confronting the man help the child in any way?
I feel I would ask him what the problem was and judging from his reaction, I would decide what to do next.
Another thing to keep in mind is that any intervention might cause the father to lose his rag even more and to take his anger out on the child, as if he was the cause of my interference. I know damn well that he mightn't strike the kid again in my presence but there is a very real chance he would do it later on.
Unless I felt there was a very immediate and serious danger that the child would be further assaulted, I would wait until I cooled down somewhat and then ring the gardai.
I'd try and be as factual as possible and give my contact details to whoever was on the other end of the phone line. I would be prepared to let the law take its course and I'd be prepared to stand over what I reported and take my chances after that.
I have a niece who is a clinical psychologist and works part of the time in Mayo. She also runs a clinic in Manchester. She reckons the incidence of domestic mental and physical abuse is far higher in rural Ireland than it is in urban areas. [She has handled cases referred to her in Dublin also from time to time.]
According to her, the big reason for this is the reluctance of the public to intervene in any way in the domestic problems of anyone else. We are not talking about nosy neighbours or anything like that but of the unwillingness of a community to pretend not to see something of this nature going on in their midst. Often, the parents need more urgent help than any kids that may be involved!

#4224
General discussion / Re: what would you do?
October 23, 2008, 11:48:25 AM
Quote from: rosnarun on October 22, 2008, 11:40:00 PM
This is a hugely complex situation which would be made way worse by a complete stranger barging in to it.could be the man beat the child daily and was already under investigation  or he was just having the worst day of his life.
once social services are involved the child in on their radar for life. i would need to be very convinced by what i saw to make that decision for another family.
Fostering in theory sounds great but it is a shit way to grow up. how many people here would be willing and able to foster? and with the exception of baby adoptions it is an extremely hard to find any one willing to do it . While every one agrees it is a great thing to do
So where does thast leave that child you have intervened on behalf of?
pintsofguinness say it was than the up to the authorities and LAR say ''would be no further concern of mine''. as though that was some kind of end to the situation
Lifes not like that as i said before ' it may sooth your conscience but whaqt ever happens to the child after that you now share a responsility.
either of you want a foster child?
Ros, you are losing me there!
When I say ''would be no further concern of mine'' I am referring to the fact that I would not seek to interfere or take on the job of sorting out the father. I certainly don't mean I'd put the entire episode out of my mind but I am not qualified to pass judgement on anybody in a case like this.
I think that is a job for experts; at least they should be experts and have far more resources to deal with such happenings than I could ever hope to have.
I certainly never implied that I would be willing to take the responsibility of bring up the poor kid because I witnessed one incident that worried me!
I can reel off at least six cases where people decided to turn a blind eye to what they knew was wrong and it lead to serious consequences.
Maybe the father is in need of help himself. Maybe also, there is a domestic situation involved where wives/ partners and other family members are being beaten up.
I've said I'd be prepared to stand over what I'd report and give whatever evidence I was asked to provide – to the proper authorities.
But I'd never set myself up as sole judge, jury and executioner either!
Look; I taught for many years at a school in Finglas. In that time I came across many cases of domestic violence that caused concern and where turning a blind eye was not an option. I have seen cases where kids and often mothers were removed from the household for the short term. I can't recall any action by either me or any of my colleagues ever resulting in kids being taken permanently into foster care.
That sort of thing would only be done as a last resort.
That's not to say I've never come across cases where children were taken into care; I don't think it happens unless there is a risk of serious injury or even death occurring. I can think of cases where I'd say it was the only realistic option. Drugs misuse more often than not would play a part in the situation arising and in many cases I'd say the father or sometimes the mother was totally incapable of ever returning to normality without outside help.
I think most teachers in any part of the country would agree with me on this. It's kind of accepted procedures to report cases and not seek to actively interfere after that. God knows our social services can be inadequate at times but they do try to act in the best interests of the innocent parties involved and long term fostering does not figure first and foremost on the agenda.
#4225
Nil aon tintean mar do thintean fein

Ni aon toin tinn mar do thoin tinn fein

I've left out the fadas as I'm sure you can follow the gist of the above without 'em.
You have a here:
A) Go with the classical version; there's no fireside like your own.
B) You may opt for the latter if your magnus opus is directed at a younger, more dynamic audience, attuned to the needs of practical reality. (Hey! did I write that??)
There's no sore bumlike your own sore bum.
#4226
General discussion / Re: Favourite sporting quirks
October 22, 2008, 05:40:19 PM
Quote from: SidelineKick on October 22, 2008, 05:27:54 PM
Ballinderry manager Paul Devlin spitting in an opponents face.  You just never see that anymore, good to see someone keeping up that tradition  :-\

It's more widespread than you think.
Dublin county board official, Paddy Delaney, spitting in Jayo Sherlock's face some years ago after a session in Parnell Park. Seems Paddy objected to Jayo playing soccer with Drogheda United.
This incident got widespread media coverage at the time.
#4227
General discussion / Re: what would you do?
October 22, 2008, 05:27:46 PM
Quote from: rosnarun on October 22, 2008, 04:10:53 PM
would you really go to social services and possibly destroy the childs life by condemning him to a life of foster homes and care instituions to soothe your own offended morals on an incident you did not see and maybe was misunderstood by the actual eye witness.
Im not saying never intervene but be aware of the full consequences of your actions

There' a first for everything, ros, and this is the first time I find myself in disagreement with you. [At least I think we are approaching the incident mannix reported from different perspectives.]
If I witnessed this incident I feel I would have no excuse whatever to turn away; the consequences of doing so might be terrible for the child concerned. I would certainly report the incident to the police in an objective way.
After that, I would agree to provide testimony about what I saw- if asked to do so at any stage of proceedings.
The matter of removing the child from the parents' care or getting counselling for the father or giving him a warning and leaving it at that would be no further concern of mine.
I certainly would still be upset but I wouldn't see any reason for me to intervene in any way again unless I saw a repeat of the same behaviour by the father towards the child. Then I would make another official complaint and insist on having it investigated.
A child of three cannot make a rational decision about his long-term future and I certainly don't think I can do it for him either. If I turned away and pretended not to notice, I'm afraid my conscience would bother me for the rest of my life and I don't think confronting the father there and then would be of any benefit to the child.

#4228
For Tony Fearon to bug

That's only five as the greedy so and so before me used 11.
BTW, Hardstation, your adding isn't too hot today; nine and eleven should leave ten outta thirty!
#4229
http://www.addictinggames.com/miniputt.html

Miniputt is my all-time time waster.
I've been hooked for years!
#4230
General discussion / Re: FAO Mayo Posters
October 21, 2008, 11:57:21 AM
I never been there for a wedding but I have gone four or five times; for the likes of confirmations and meeting up with American relations who were touring the west and so on.. From all accounts it is a top class place.
I also know people who went to a wedding reception there as well and all told me they were impressed.