In from the cold.

I have had a head cold for 12 stuffy irritating days, there are signs (small ones) of it abating, but whenever I'm exposed to Air Conditioning, it kicks off again. What is it with the Irish management of air conditioning? Do we even need it? My office is in a HUGE open plan space, summer and winter the air conditioning blasts out, to the extent that in Summer you have to wear a fleece inside to keep warm. Ridiculous. I believe that the Irish approach to air conditioning is similar to our approach to Cappuccinos, It's all about the sophistication of having it regardless of whether or not it is any good. Therefore we happily shell out €3.20 for a pint of scalded milk mixed with a thimble of coffee that tastes (if you can taste it) of the dirty pipes it's been run through. (FYI Dublin "Baristas" you're not supposed to Boil Milk, and you are supposed to clean the pipes.)

I cheered a little for Hilary this morning on the news of her unexpected comeback in New Hampshire, there is an interesting piece in the Huffington Post theorising about the Republican agenda for backing Obama, and indeed the medias Hilary bashing.

As the Writers Strike continues, this years Golden Globes have been shelved, at least as we know it, because there were fears thart the attending actors would refuse to cross the pickets of the writers outside. The impact of the strike hasn't really been felt here yet as we are usually a season behind the US on major dramas, but Greys anatomy has run out of episodes, Ugly Betty is in repeats and there are mutterings that the new season of Lost will be a short run. The Networks are turning to repeats and to reality shows as an alternative schedule filler, and while they are reporting good viewing figures for these, causing some to say that when the writers come back, there will be less need for them. Reality shows don't hold up well as repeats, nor do they make great DVD Box sets (a big revenue stream for the networks and one of the reasons the writers are striking - they want a bigger cut) , so I'm pretty sure that when the writers do come in from the cold, they will be put back to work!