This Thursday I will be the guest MC at IADT Factor: a great night of music, entertainment and slagging your friends. I was honoured to be the guest (and surprise) Master of Ceremonies at the event, where people can enjoy the music from the excellent acoustic artist, Eoin Dixon Murphy, followed by a very, very special Karaoke session along with some X Factor style antics.

On the night, Mr. Stephen Daly from Dublin’s FM104 will be one of the cruel, evil and mysterious judges separating the talent from the terror to give away some fantastic prizes to the worthy performers. There will also be other hijinks on the night, on an evening which shouldn’t be missed. And, most importantly, all the proceeds are going directly to Temple Street.

It’s a mere €3 entry for the entire evening- that’s less than the cost of a pint. Can you imagine the value already as you see your best mate singing on stage, getting the thumbs up or thumbs down from the folks in “the biz”? Priceless, I know.

I’ll see you there. I know you’ll love it.

Where:

Bakers Corner, Kill O’The Grange, Dun Laoghaire, Ireland – Click for a map.

When:

9pm until late.

How Much?:

A mere €3. That’s less than the price of a pint, and a around ¹/₃ of the cost of a pack of fags.

Who?:

• Eoin Dixon Murphy – Emerging acoustic artist
• Stephen Daly – Dublin’s FM104
• David O’Keeffe – That’s me. You know what I do already.

& Many more special guests.

The 2nd Foursquare Streetup is taking place at Café Novo at The Westbury Hotel in Dublin- a fantastical Bacardi Streetup. It’s on this Thursday: March 11th, from 6.30 onwards, and it’s going to be a great evening. Best of all- it’s free!

It’s been organised by Niall Fagan of Simply Zesty, and already scheduled to appear is expert Mixologist Paul Lambert from Bacardi. He’s going to rustle up some brilliant and wholly tasty concoctions and teach all Foursquare members how to make their own. Plus, if you check-in at Café Novo that evening on Foursquare, you’ll be able to make your own cocktail too! And, quite possibly, a Foursquare record could be broken for all guests, but that will be explained on the night.

The rumour mill/a little birdie has mentioned that there will be other prizes on the night, and to seal the deal, one lucky member will win one night B&B in the 5 Star Westbury Hotel. What more could you ask for on a Thursday evening?

See, social networking pays off.

If you’re on Foursquare, register for the event now, and if you’re not on the website yet, sign-up now and pop down to the streetup!

Register and Confirm your Attendance: http://plancast.com/a/12at

St. Patricks Festival, from the Press Bus

That time of year is upon us, when the Irish happily put on bright green clothes, wear large hats and carry large inflatable fingers, paint shamrocks all-over their faces (and that of their six month old child too) and act wild for one whole day. However, in it’s 15th year of the festival, the St. Patrick’s organisers have gone all out this year, and ensured a festival that isn’t defeated due to the recession, with the theme ‘Extraordinary Worlds’ to fit their proceedings.

One handy little gadget, the St. Patrick’s Festival Mobile App, which is available for virtually any handset, including the iPhone for you tech-junkies, and is entirely free of charge. If you have a normal phone that can play games and run applications, you’d probably suit the “java” version: just text “patsfest” to 51315 to download it for free. If you’re looking for the iPhone (or possibly iTouch) version, click here.

The ‘Mobile Guide’ application displays all the information on the 6 day programme of events, plus you can search through all the events happening during the festival and gives details of the event, including ticket price, data and time. Pretty nifty, huh? There’s also a big map that you can find your way across the city- perfect for visiting Yanks or a slightly tipsy (and forgetful) Dub. And, because we’ve got to be nice, the guide also includes details for those in Limerick to enable them keep up to speed on the National Lottery Skyfest which takes place there this year.

I do love St. Patrick’s Day. Just for the ‘craic like. Sure, that’s what it’s all about.

Dave w/Blast FM @ St. Patricks Festival

After rushing down the cobbles, thinking I would be late, on the way to The Malt House, where the station shares premises with Dublin’s 98 (which I was on last week), I chilled out in reception with a nice ice cold glass of water, and caught my breath back before being brought upstairs to the studios where I was greeted by Vinnie O’Dowd (Listeners: The one who is ‘in the crowd’) and got ready for the interview.

As the time approached I entered the studio where I met the two presenters, who were very nice and easy to talk to. After a bit of a chat and defence by me at all the texts from friends piling into the inbox, slagging me, we got ready for the interview.

2.34pm: Live. Interview begins.

2.40-something: It’s done.

2.53: Photo time. (See below)

Overall, it was great to drop into Spin 1038 HQ and meet the guys and get on the air for the interview. I’ll post a copy of it on this website, and the campaign website, as soon as I get around to it.

Thanks to everyone who sent texts into the studio, and everyone who showed their support. You make me smile.

And, cheers to Vinnie, Jonathan and Clare, Sam (who brought me upstairs) and all at Spin. Good on ‘yas.

Jonathan, Me and Clare at Spin 1038 HQ

My mobile. It’s something I will happily say is very important to me. Some people try and deny how much they rely on it, but I have no qualms in saying so, after all, in this modern times we need them for our connectivity and interaction with others, along with the powerful features they have connecting us with the virtual world, via camera functions, internet and SMS.

Currently I’m on Meteor, the Aldi of mobile networks, and my primary phone (for leisure and business) is a Sony Ericsson W995, which I’ve been loving for six or so months right now. However, I’ve started to really notice how changing network might be a good move for me. I’m one of those fools who forks out every month for the €20 “free text” offer which is on several operators. But, as much as free SMS is handy, the price isn’t quite satisfying me and the value is decreasing. And now I have begun to search and compare the choices I have, from Meteor along with other networks such as Vodafone, o2, Tesco Mobile and also 3.

It’s difficult to decide what price-plan really suits you. There are so many, offering different options, that is becomes difficult. For example, on my current pre-paid plan I am topping up twenty Euro a month purely for my free text messages, leaving the money on my account for me to use on phone calls- but I have noticed that this spending is more commonly on internet, which is ludicrously priced. For access for one day’s connectivity, at slow 2.5G speeds, I’m paying 99c- which is far from economical, especially in these rough financial times.

I’ve been looking at 3. They are offering their “Best of Both”  giving me a limited bill, debited automatically from my bank account. It’s maxxed out at €15 or €29, and if I need to spend more, I top-up with call credit purchased in a standard shop or online.  Simple, to be honest. With that plan, I can pay €9.99 per month for anytime access to internet from the handset, at an unlimited allowance level. Seeing as I’m spending on average €12-16 per month on additional mobile internet, this would suit me down the ground. My calls are included (minimum 40 minutes) and fee Skype, Windows Live Messenger, along with lots of other junk that I’ll never use. I would fit my lifestyle perfectly, methinks.

However, I still have that stigma in my mind at 3 are an awful network, which is no longer the case, I think. They launched on the Irish market a number of years ago, and quite frankly it was messy. They were somewhat slated for customer care issues, along with poor coverage and 101 other things. Since then, I believe that they’ve cleaned up their act and made things better. But, human instinct has made he still become queasy about splashing out and moving network. If I leave Meteor, I’m losing my free text offer, should I ever return, and I’m brought into a contact with 3. Not ideal.

If only there was a way to try out 3 on the price-plan without being stuck to a sudden commitment. Yes, there are free sim cards and whatnot, but it’s not the same as testing out the actual plan that you would be on should you switch.

If you’re on 3 and can throw me some thoughts, I’d really appreciate it. I know mobiles are a trivial thing, but as I said, they mean a lot to me.

photo credit: BestBoyZ.de