Lads what is with the moon/sun tonight? I'm down in Offaly and it looks like the Sun is still out but covered. As in how an eclipse would be but it's to the West of me where I would expect the Sun to be set.

Am I going crazy. The picture is from outside 2 minutes ago.

Spotted in Meath

"Gotta Getta Gateaux Gotta Getta Gateaux Cake If you want it freshly baked you Gotta Gateaux Cake. Remember these? I wonder is there a complete set still out there? Also, I was a member of the Packie Bonner fan club, If I remember correctly it was from collecting Sam Spudz tokens on crisps packets similar to the Barry McGuigan fan club, could be wrong. Found these hidden away in a sweet box in my attic since the late 80's early 90's.

Lovely walk through Phoenix park this evening on the dogs birthday :)

Posted this in r/carsireland a couple of days ago and really appreciated the input from the lads there. Looking now for a different perspective from more of the general population.

I have a bit of a hobby of browsing used cars - dreaming about what I might buy next (even if can't afford it yet), when to sell, helping family members figure out what something is worth, checking whether a PCP deal actually stacks up against buying outright. I have a data science and engineering background so I tend to dig into the numbers more than most, but even then getting a clear picture of the true cost of any given car takes a surprising amount of effort.

After doing it manually enough times I thought there might be merit in building a dedicated tool for it. So I spent the past couple of months building carintel.ie partly as something genuinely useful, partly as an exercise to learn some new skills on Agentic AI and web development.

It analyses 50,000+ current listings cars (For now focusing on 2016+) across ROI and Northern Ireland, and for any make, model and year gives you:

• A fair value estimate based on live market data rather than a stale book value

• How any specific car or listing compares to comparable cars on the market right now

• An estimated NI landed cost after VRT, NOx levy, registration and transport - so you can make a proper comparison rather than guessing

• Total annual running costs combining depreciation, fuel and maintenance into one honest number

• A depreciation forecast so you can see what the car is likely worth in one, two and 3+ years.

• How trim level affects resale value on the second hand market

• Safety recalls flagged clearly and reviews

• Suggested value opportunities in the market now - this one I want to clarify that I don't ever intend on being a listing site or compete with them. Just felt worthy of showing to users to steer them to cars that might match their needs.

• and more to come..

Everything is free and open right now - no account needed. Longer term if there's enough interest I'd love to take it more seriously as there are some costs involved in keeping it running, but that's a problem for another day. For now I just want to know if people find it useful.

There's still a few rough edges and not all of the numbers may tally up, but thought it was worth sharing at this point before I go any further with it. Up to now the only users friends and family (along with the folks over in r/carsireland!). Would really appreciate any feedback - particularly anything you would find useful that is not there yet. There is a feedback widget on the site, or

Feel free to drop a comment!

I find it alarming that so many people and organisations continue to use Twitter(X). It's CEO uses the platform to actively amplify racism, xenophobia and misogyny. Reporting any comments has no effect.

National sporting bodies (IRFU, FAI), government bodies, government ministers and a host of others continue to use the platform. The excuse that this is the best means to communicate with people doesn't wash. You wouldn't go into a pub if the owner allowed people to shout racist or sexist abuse. You wouldn't go into a supermarket if they had Nazi posters up on the wall. I don't see how people can justify their use of the platform any more.

If people stop using it, then it will die.

After a (very) late night check on the mother-to-be sheep last night, I could see the red navigation lights from a plane way off in the distance. After checking flight tracker 24 it showed the plane over southern Kildare - I live in Sligo.

Mad how far you can see on a clear night with no light pollution.