Simon McGarr

@tupped.bsky.social

6914 Followers 1409 Following

Solicitor, consultant, artist, writes TheGist.ie newsletter. Visiting Lecturer. External Examiner in Data Protection law.

A powerpoint slide: To Get Valid Consent Be humbel, be honest, Take no for an answer. What you want is not preeminent. Ask politely for the right to use someone's data - it is their dignity at stake. Show visitors what you want to do. Explain it. Tell them why you want to do it. Seriously.
The extent of this money bonfire is only barely perceptible from where we are, because unlike the finance boom, it is based on capital expenditure building actual physical assets like data centres. And in the main those are being built in the US. The effect of this centralisation of investment is that the world's second largest economy is being distorted. (paywall, but you can read Wired magazines for free through the Libby. app, if you use your local library card) But we should just say again here that none of this makes any sense whatsoever. Firstly, because of the existence of China, which releases cutting edge models for free (out of mischief). But secondly, because it is based on a presumption that the Al industry will end up like the modern internet advertising industry, with two or three winners making impossible amounts of money from globally-centralised systems. And, like Alanis Morrisette before me, I'm here to remind you that event was a complete anomaly in the history of how tech has worked for the last 50 years. < thegist.ie
Cam @matrixreloaded_ people on here will tweet anything. "Charlie Brown had hoes." No he didn't. That isn't true. 11:33 AM • 8/31/20 • Twitter for iPhone
A closeup photo of the original Orac prop from Blake’s 7.
Rent Lobbyist Pressure Zones Then, almost in the same breath, the Taoiseach laid out his plan to turn things around. We had to be realistic, he told us. The Government wouldn't build houses for everyone, so we needed to make building more profitable for private developers. As these developers are now (unlike the last FF housing boom) largely build-to-let investment firms, the key profit lever is to do away with rent pressure zones. We should be clear what this kite actually means. It is the direct continuation, now the election is over, of the previous government's housing policy. From March 2023: "The result, just to look at it again, was that the Government decided that they would see thousands of people made homeless, as a deliberate result of their public policy, so that landlords (institutional or individual) could see higher returns from their property investments."
The share of young adults living with their parents is climbing in many countries and cities, with Ireland leading the way % of people aged 25-34 who live with their parents. National averages vs major regions [5 line graphs. Ireland’s is sharply above 40% since 2010. The rest show US, U.K., Canada and Australia. The next highest result is the US at just over 20%]
A sunflower, but instead of yellow it is dark orange with lighter orange tips like flames.
An old-timey label for a quack cure. Effervescent Brain Salt, "A positive relief and cure for Brain Troubles, Headaches, sea sickness, Nervous Debility, Sleeplessness, Brainwork"
Disney styled bright pink illuminated Cheshire Cat from Alice in Wonderland
A burger van with FaceCook written on it and a big Facebook like thumb. FaceCook Serving the finest 'Zucker' Burgers and 'Computer' Chips
A woman wearing glasses holds up a glass of white wine, smiling.
A boy reads a book on his lap.
A curly haired boy tucked up asleep under a blanket.
A woman wearing a pair of glasses and a blue jumper looks to the side. She has short hair.
A picture in ink & paint of a white haired man.
A sunflower, but it is the colour and texture of dark red velvet curtains, shading to black in the centre.
A white page with "Not all who wander are lost, but this page isThe link's not working or the page is gone. Go back to keep exploring. © 2026Threads TermsPrivacy PolicyCookies PolicyCookie settings" on it
It’s a picture of the salad as described.
property developers. It became the stuff of international investor companies. At the same time, patronage flows the other way now, from the companies whose money stuffs the state's coffers, to a client state that actively adopts the needs of multinationals over those of any humans in the country. How do you think you end up being cited as the world's main cautionary tale in a UN report on the dangers of uncontrolled data centre development? How does that data centre growth consume your entire renewables effort and more? Why prioritise gas you have to import over renewables you could generate yourself, except because those data centres want to run on gas and need the state to ensure the supply of it into the future, climate be
A cacophony of ads for hearing aids and to fungus and floating bits, with literally one sentence of the article.
IFA invited to Make-A-Wish FF, FG and SF all trouped in to the IFA to promise them, in turn, that Farmers were their Bestest Boys and Girls and that it was the Mean Green Party who had forced climate mitigation targets on them at all. "Mary Lou McDonald said her party. would push for more payments for farmers and criticised the Carbon Tax, calling it "thoughtless and lazy". The Agriculture sector was responsible for 34% of all greenhouse gas emissions in Ireland this year. This made it the largest source of Ireland's emissions.
6 charts stuck to a wall
It’s the sickos guy, but he’s labelled “Scottish Sickos” and he’s saying Aye Ha Ha Ha Aye while waving a burning American flag.
A black cat looking into a hollowed out pumpkin
The part of the legislation we are discussing here is called the carrying out of biometric analysis by members of the Garda Siochána. What is clear from a plain reading of this legislation, if enacted, is that it establishes a distinction between "biometric analysis" and "biometric identification". Irrespective of what the Al Act says, here we are establishing a distinction between the two and only biometric analysis is permitted in this legislation." Irrespective of what the Al Act says? That is the wall Humpty Dumpty has decided to balance on. He will pass his law irrespective of the actual terms of the Al Act, and if it falls later he doesn't intend to be there to see it. The mad yoke.
Imagine a world where samurai swords are created by master metal smiths, honing their skills for years, forging them through tears over months of hard spiritual and physical labour, finally holding the folded and hammered steel to the dawn's light to capture the essence of the ineffable in the blade. Now imagine this same world has the cardboard box with Duplicator written on it in crude marker from Calvin and Hobbes. As soon as the completed sword exists, you can just toss it in and make as many identical copies as you like. That's the Al industry.
Multiple people working with Burnham said the new AI strategy would also have a strong focus on tech sovereignty, particularly in the wake of the US government's shock decision to place export controls on AI company Anthropic last month. The move led
A bag of spuds. FLOURY Irish Rooster potatoes mash, bake or roast
An Post GeoDirectory DAC (Designated Activity Company) 46 In July 2023, the DPC commenced an own-volition Inquiry concerning the products and services offered by An Post GeoDirectory DAC. The DPC issued a Statement of Issues to An Post GeoDirectory DAC in November 2025 which provided a focused overview of the facts established during the inquiry and identified a principal preliminary issue to be determined during the Inquiry's decision-making stage. An Post GeoDirectory DAC made submissions in response and at year-end the matter was ongoing.
Darragh O'Brien is no longer housing minister, so he didn't address any questions about why he had given his Taoiseach and all the other members of the Government their regrettably false sense of personal success. Instead he has moved on to tackle public transport, making (and I swear | did not invent this) his first signature policy the delivery of infrastructure that just doesn't turn up when the numbers say it ought to be there.
Daragh O’Brien in a TikTok. the caption is just “ghost buses”
= Q Dublin InQuirer _ rina Arternieva is homeless, ricocheting between between different bed and breakfasts, sometimes in different counties, using vouchers provided by her local council. In March, she filed a case with the Residential Tenancies Board (RTB) for alleged unlawful termination of tenancy, which she says is the reason why she is homeless. But staff at the RTB have repeatedly said they will close her case if she doesn't provide an address.
The Ryanair cabin bag measuring cage box.
4:03 AM • Jun 24, 2026 & Everybody can reply 46 reposts 1.4K quotes
Simon McGarr • @tupped.bsky.social That rube stock will rise 20% before falling forever. That is how rube stocks work. 10:06 PM • Jun 12, 2026
Mohamed Salah's match-winning second-half display helped Egypt come from behind to beat Egypt for first World Cup win.
Read more Adrian Weckler: Manna grounded. If this had been Amazon or Google, would we have forced them to leave?
Simon McGarr @Tupp_ed I exist as the person that I am because of my local library. I would go there whenever I wanted to read books. Books don't just go away when you're finished them, their words sit on your mind, to sink deeper and deeper into you, until they are a part of who you are. Sometimes a very important part. The possibility for change is anathema to people who insist they have had the whole truth already revealed to them.
A red panda in an attitude of polite interruption
An oil pastel of a cat looking out a rectangle at a garden
Dune poster but it says Dune Stores
A dramatic sunset against some roofs.
Deep space Nine title screen. “"EVERYONE IN CHARGE IS A CORRUPT IDIOT"”
Tim Ferriss, Author: The 4-Hour Workweek, The 4-Hour Body, The 4-Hour Chef. Host, The Tim Ferriss Show.
Finally, the Court rules on the question whether a provider of such services may be exempted from its liability on the ground that the information it stores and rebroadcasts is provided by its users. In that regard, the Court recalls that, in order to be classified as a 'hosting' provider, which may, in principle, benefit from an exemption from liability for the information stored at the request of a user, that provider must have neither knowledge of nor control over that information. As it is, a provider which determines, by means of an algorithm, under what conditions, how and in which order of priority that information is or is not rebroadcast, exercises control over that information, with the result that it is not exempted from liability. However, even in the event of such an exemption, the service provider concerned may be prohibited from rebroadcasting information relating to certain roadside checks for reasons of public policy, security or safety.
Tim Ferriss, Author: The 4-Hour Workweek, The 4-Hour Body, The 4-Hour Chef. Host, The Tim Ferriss Show.
THE IRISH TIMES When asked which, if any, social media platform they use for finding, reading, watching, sharing or discussing news, Facebook was cited by 33 per cent, followed by WhatsApp at 27 per cent, YouTube at 26 per cent, Instagram with 23 per cent, TikTok at 15 per cent and X at 11 per cent.
Katsushika Hokusai, The Great Wave off Kanagawa aka The Wave but the fishermen’s boat is labelled “Foreign Opinions on Belfast Race Riots” and the wave is labelled Context.
A grey-haired middle aged man in a hoodie and a pinkish shirt stands with a woman wearing a red shirt and glasses. They are both in front of bunting made of Dáil Order papers. They’re both grinning, only delighted, they are.
A photo of a plaster statue of Saint Patrick in white robes with a green cloak and hat. He his holding his hands out, but the fingers have worn away leaving just the bare wire
24.4 Subject to paragraph 24.14, the Employee may engage in external work only if and when the Employee requests and the Employer grants permission for such external work. The Employer may refuse permission for external work, or grant permission for external work subject to restrictions, only if the Employer is satisfied that such refusal or such restrictions are reasonably based on the following objective grounds: (a) the protection of patient health and safety and the health and safety of persons other than patients, including other persons receiving care from the health service; (b) safeguarding productive and safe working conditions; (c) the protection of the integrity of the public health service and the administration of vital public health service functions; (d) the avoidance of conflicts of interest; (e) compliance by the Employer and/or the Employee with any applicable statutory or regulatory obligations; (f) compliance by the Employee with any professional standards for the time being in force; (g) implementing and achieving the State’s objectives of the promotion of public welfare by improving public health, the removal of inefficiencies and inequalities in the delivery of healthcare services, and assisting in the implementation of a universal healthcare service in which patients are treated on the basis of health needs. 24.5 The Employer will introduce a system, code or procedure18 for handling and facilitating requests by the Employee for permission to engage in external work and such requests will be decided on in a timely and efficient manner (normally within 1 month) by the Clinical Director/Executive Clinical Director/line manager. Ideally, this would be facilitated in discussions regarding the Employee’s work-plan. 24.6 Any such system, code or procedure will provide that permission will not be unreasonably withheld.
An over-complicated bar chart. Public Housing Provision in Ireland, 1887–2025 Local Authority and Approved Housing Body new-build output; all figures exclude private market acquisitions of existing stock 2025 9,088 units Republic of Ireland Chart 1: Annual Output (1922–59 shown as decade totals at 10× bar width) Pre-independence 1887–1918 (all 32 counties: Housing of the Working Classes Acts + Labourers Acts) 1922–59: decade totals only — bar height = avg/yr, width = decade span. Total shown on bar. Annual data 1960–2025 (LA + AHB/HA new builds; acquisitions excluded from 2004) Population (right axis): all-island pre-1922 · Republic of Ireland 1926+
bumping an officer. We found a picture of an officer being hit in the head with a snowball. We culled together a lot of video of protesters screaming in the faces of officers because we were going to talk about the killing of Pretti and the killing of Good, and it seemed to me important to tell the audience about the entire context. I thought we'd done a really good job with this. We also included a picture of Alex Pretti before he was killed kicking out a taillight on a police car and made a point of saying, this is Alex Pretti and this is what he did. So, the story goes through screenings. It's very well received.
The Shard, a London skyscraper, framed between two other brutalist concrete buildings.