iPhone 3Gs, o2, Twitter and the information superhighway

Max O’Malley is amazed at how fast information travels.

Questions for the Presbyterian Mutual Society

Amongst some papers I discovered a brochure for the Presbyterian Mutual Society, it is undated but seems to be around 2002/2003. On looking at it I have some questions for the church and the former Board of Directors during the period from then until its collapse.

Smile, you are ethically banking [from ajustlife.org]

You have all heard of the Coop, right? Well a few years ago the “Co” started an internet only banking organisation called “Smile”. It was the early days of internet banking and only the young and foolhardy like myself were willing to part with the traditional bricks and mortar bank approach and commit my money to an organisation that existed only on “t’internet”.

Quantitative Easing – part 2

Imagine a bank that looks like this (simplified for my benefit as much as anything else!):

It has £100,000 of money on deposit. According to banking rules, each bank is allowed to loan out 90% of the money it holds on deposit. Or to put it another way it must keep 10% of the money it holds as customer deposits in cash reserves. Most people don’t need their money as cold hard cash but banks keep this amount for those that do. The rest can be given out to loan customers (at an interest rate of course).

Quantitative Easing – part 1

So, here is what seems to be happening in my best layman’s terms. The businesses in our economy are not selling enough stuff because we are not buying enough stuff.

The businesses are not making enough profits and some are even making a loss therefore they decide to cut their costs which in some cases results in making people redundant. Those businesses then cut costs and increase their profit but the income normally received by the people made redundant is no longer out there being spent on other businesses.

Address to an English Dish

As appeared on Radio 4’s “The Write Stuff” and deserving wider attention. Apologies to any offended and have to say that I enjoy Auntie Bessie’s Yorkshire Pud’s.

in the style of “Rabbie” Burns

Address to an English Dish

Vox gets up early for Belfast Apple Store Grand Opening

The BBC covered the event [Vox O'Malley can be seen coyly entering and high fiving the double line of Apple staff.] and several bloggers recorded the occasion, Here and Here.

I was there from 6:40am, an enthusiastic effort on my part. The crowd were in great spirits and I met some great people – thanks also to Starbucks for donating free mini hot chocolates!

At the risk of adding cheese to the Apple pie, I did think it was an unusual sight in cynical Belfast to see such smiles, albeit for a beloved retail brand. It was, I do think, and is, “good” for Belfast.

My own footage is here:

Lilytodd attempts to explain constipated mathematician joke to four year old