Rugby/Swimming/Water-Polo Ball

The NUIM combined sports ball took place last Wednesday in the Courtyard Hotel, Leixlip. It was a good night (Although it didn't live up to my expectations- That always happens with big events!). Despite the amount of rain that night I managed to get to the bus which was waiting at the students' union without ruining my hair and make up.

Myself and Maureen on the bus

Of course, we were last off the bus so I was unable to find a seat at any of the swimmers' tables. Luckily Peter who is in my class in college was there with his rugby team to I sat beside him for the meal. It consisted of two course, the main course was lots of meat, stuffing and potatoes, the usual. For dessert there was sticky toffee pudding which I loved!

Maeve, Niamh, Lucy, Myself and Marcas

After the meal Martin (aka Spitz) attempted to give out awards to certain swimmers (Due to them being left out of awards at the Clubs and Societies Awards apparently??). Of course the boys from the rugby team were really rude and were shouting and chanting throughout this. In fairness, it was quite boring and I didn't think it was the time or place to be giving awards (Sorry Spitz), no one was in the mood for it, we just wanted to get out of there and into the nightclub. 

In the nightclub :)

The rest of the night was spent on the dance floor. In fairness, the DJ was really good. Yes, there were a few songs that he played multiple times- But they were songs we wanted multiple times! The bar was open until 2am (Although I was very good and barely spent any money). After this we were shuttled back to Maynooth where I was ready to collapse into bed after such a long night. I managed to make it the whole was back in my heels also, despite dancing for a few hours straight!

On the bus beforehand again

All in all, I must admit that it was a fun night and I really enjoyed myself. There were a few moments where I was wishing the bus was leaving earlier but in the end it was perfect timing. I got to dress up and do my hair and it was nice to have one special night out with the swim and polo people as I am leaving after the exams are finished in May (Hopefully I will be heading to DIT- Fingers crossed!)

Two Things I Found Interesting

I hadn't been in Dublin in a long time (One of the downsides of going to college in Maynooth) so it was great to be able to spend the day in town on Wednesday. I got myself a new cover for my BB (which is actually malfunctioning as I have to remove it to fit my charger in :/ ) and some longer hair extensions. I had lunch with Sara in Costa coffee too. We actually had to leave there because there was a couple across from us who took the level possible PDAs to a whole new dimension!

I saw these heads in Georges Street Arcade in a shop selling hats and shades. This was just after I was almost bullied into buying a Lil Wayne tee-shirt by an old man who owned the previous stall! I thought this photo was funny because I'm not sure what that head on the top right is supposed to be modelling?!

This was a cute sign I found at the restaurant inside the Powerscourt shopping centre. I'd set all my children loose and free in this café if I knew I'd be guaranteed they'd come home with kittens!!

Web Information Processing

Lately in college I've come to realise exactly how much time and effort goes into developing a website. I always assumed that the design and layout of the pages would be the hardest part- How wrong could I have been.

I am currently involved in a group project where we are developing a community portal website ("CommunityYOUnity"- Great name, right, guess who came up with it ?!). Having spent multiple weeks designing the layout of our website I was pretty happy with our progress and thought we were getting along great and making good time. How wrong could I have been...

The next step in the development is to make sure that every page is editable. The way the site will work is that guests can register as members. The members can then edit their 'profile page' with their details, a small bio and a picture. These guests can then create a profile page for their organisation (They then become 'super-users' in regards to that page) which is editable in the same way as profile pages, or they can browse the organisations and choose which ones to volunteer for. Each organisation's page will have a large 'VOLUNTEER!' button where the registered user can become a member of this organisation's group and receive updates and also have access to a mailing list.

Unfortunately, no one in my group (including me!) have any clue as to how to start this process. Up until now we have been coding in HTML and CSS (I have used my exquisite HTML skills to format this post: See how my image is the full width of the page?!). The next step in the development will require the implementation of PHP and the use of databases with SQL commands. Today, as a first look at PHP I have edited the homepage so it now prints to-days date when you arrive on it (Except I can't get it to work!!).

This week will be spent trying to create databases for the site and to integrate these with PHP used in the coding of the pages. I also have a solo project due in three weeks which will similarly require this knowledge. Any ideas as to what I should base my solo web development project on are greatly appreciated!

If you wish to view the website while under development it is currently hosted at this address:
http://webcourse.cs.nuim.ie/20112012/CS230/CS230groupA2012/
Although you may need an NUIM username and password to access it, sorry!

What makes you beautiful?

This song sounded so innocent at first, catchy lyrics, upbeat and happy tune, sunny, Californian video. What's not to like? Well nothing... Except for the blatant misogynist undertones!

Ok, maybe (Definitely!) I'm being a bit dramatic. Let me explain...

"You don't know you're beautiful, oh oh oh, that's what makes you beautiful!"

This song is meant to promote the idea that it's ok to be shy. Which it is, don't get me wrong, there's nothing wrong with being quiet. But the fact that the subject of the song is beautiful because she doesn't know she's beautiful erks me to be honest. Surely the girl is beautiful because she has nice eyes or a 'beautiful soul' (lol).  Is it to say that if she suddenly looked in the mirror and realised that she is beautiful would she then no longer be beautiful?

One of the lyrics in this song actually indicates that the subject is 'insecure'. I've never seen an attractive, insecure person. I really don't see the appeal of a girl or guy being insecure, regardless of their looks. 

What happened to confidence being sexy? Real confidence to just be yourself, regardless of what you look like. Most men I've ever spoken to agree that that confidence is key. A girl who is not afraid to express her opinions is beautiful. A girl who is not afraid to do something weird is beautiful. How much of a turn-off would it be to constantly have to reassure your 'insecure' partner?

I know plenty of beautiful women who know they are beautiful. Actually, all the beautiful people I know are fully aware that they are beautiful. And it's the confidence that stems from this knowledge that makes them even more attractive in my humble opinion. Which is why I wish to conclude that One Direction do not promote a healthy mindset in young girls. A more suitable role model would be LMFAO (Oh, it's THAT kind of party?!) who are ready to embrace confidence which is why I shall sign off with a song with a positive message, now let's all Wiggle, Wiggle, Wiggle, Wiggle, Wiggle! Yeah!

SophistiKatie was already taken...

Hi!

I'm Katie and I'm a student from Dublin. I've always wanted a blog but could never think of a subject. Generally for a successful blog, good materiel is required and I never thought I'd be imaginative enough. However, after seeing the quite fortuitous attempts at web logging I have been inspired to begin my own. Actually, check out my sister Enid's blog at http://renovatinglpa.blogspot.com/ and Amy's blog at http://amydublinia.blogspot.com/. 

This blog is nothing special, I'm not expecting many people outside my family or close circle of friends to read it but that doesn't mean this blog is not a beautiful and unique snowflake! Basically I'm going to be documenting events in my day to day life and ideas that I sometimes have in my head which would normally go unheard by anyone except for me. I plan on making it my baby though, and I shall make it pretty and fun I promise :)