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Bernie Goldbach posted a photo:

Tag Cloud created while listening to episode 14 of Alone with Michele Parise.

My son, LB, and I like to do baking and crafts together. I try to choose projects, recipes, or tasks that are safe and fun for him, but also limit the mess I’ll clean up later. So, no breaking eggs....

The post Simple Ceramic Bead Necklace appeared first on EvinOK.

Bernie Goldbach posted a photo:

It pays to have a slow and steady hover.

Bernie Goldbach posted a photo:

See Pinker Book Recommendations.

There’s a fine line between cheering and jeering. It’s a line that somebody who has struggled with their fitness all their life is well aware of; in many ways is hyper-conscious of. It’s the point at which you look up in hope that actually, maybe somebody may be encouraging you and then notice that they are laughing at you. It’s a painful line and over time you become used to always being jeered and never getting cheered.

A Cheer First Timer

I was cheered on my first night out with our running group when I was far and away the last person back to our meeting point. There was at least 10 people standing around talking and now I know they were waiting for me. They saw me come around the corner and started cheering, clapping, and calling encouragement. I genuinely looked behind me to see if they were talking to somebody else. Then I trundled to the fence a wonderful shade of puce, muttering my thanks and not able to look them in the eye.

That cheer wasn’t just ‘for me’ so to speak. It’s a cheer that says ‘we know what you’re doing and we admire you for doing it’ and I’ve since given just as many as I’ve received. The cheer lifts your chin from your chest, raises hope in your heart and makes your feet lighter to pick up from the ground.

Cheering Other Runners

Last week when I was working my way around a 20 mile race course at a snail’s pace I started getting overtaken. Each loop on the course was 10km approximately and each person was doing their own race. There were people running a 10km, half marathon (2 loops), 20 miles (3 loops), and a full marathon (4 loops). I started early on account of being so slow, not in shame, but simply because I wanted to finish at a reasonable hour!

As I was overtaken on my second loop I made an effort to let a roar of ‘great running’, ‘fair play’, or ‘you’re doing great’ to every single person who passed me. Invariably some of them were in their own zone and didn’t respond but the vast majority did. Then I was overtaken by the first of the locals and as I let a roar to him, he let out a shout of encouragement to me. I smiled and my shoulders went back, I felt uplifted to keep up the pace for a little longer. As more and more of my local team members overtook me there was a tap on my shoulder, a gentle word of support, and a cheer which was reciprocated.

I felt like their energy was bolstering me on for the route ahead and when I rounded the final corner to go onto the home straight there they were. Roaring my name and cheering me home.

Long Term Effects Of Cheering

Every single person who runs has their own story to tell, their own journey to undertake. Yet they all appreciate and understand the importance of cheering you home, no matter what your pace or goal. Getting to the start line and then onwards to the finish line is an achievement worth celebrating.

Often at the end of races there is a medal or a t-shirt, or sometimes both. The medal is a great reminder to hang on a hook to mark how far I’ve come. The cheers though, they bolster us all for the races to come.

PS. This day fortnight I run Dublin City Marathon. Gulp.

The post The Importance Of Cheering appeared first on Caitriona Redmond - Wholesome Ireland.

A COMBINATION OF health issues along with stark warnings from scientists have encouraged me to eat less meat. The UN says switching to a meat-free diet makes an immediate reduction of 50% in one's carbon footprint so that's what I'm doing. This green issue was one of several items worth remembering in my six-minute review of Sunday news in Ireland.

Legacies for Good

Only 6% of donations to charity come from Irish wills. You can leave a legacy gift.

Project Bacon

I wonder how Niamh Shields is doing with her bacon book. She got more than EUR 20,000 in Kickstarter money to publish her cook book but it's still not on my local shelves.

Dying for their IG bodies

I follow several well-toned Irish bodies around Instagram and have to wonder if their well-sculpted forms are helped by the infusion of nasty drugs. A survey by the Health Products Regulatory Authority found that one in 10 Irish people would consider taking steroids. I wonder if the HPRA would consider running their Google advertisement at the top of search engine results when people search for "buy steroids in Ireland" because that might be a better use of their Google Adwords budget.

2018 World Trade Report

Because I teach a module on emerging trends, the May 2018 WTO Trade Report interests me. It cites AI, blockchain, IOT, and 3D printing as forces shaping the future.

Eating Less Meat Newsround

I cover these topics and a few more, including a new selection for my bookshelf. It's Untrue by Wednesday Martin. As I've learned by listening to those who know, almost half of women are unfaithful. Martin dives into the concept by exploring primatology, cultural anthropology, psychology, sociology, and medicine. Until I read a review of Untrue, I had not considered the existence of legal contracts for polyamory.

[Bernie Goldbach teaches creative media for business on the Clonmel Digital Campus. Download WTO Trade Report 2018.]

Bernie Goldbach posted a photo:

Watching our stalking Shadow cat.

ONE OF THE MOST REWARDING things I do is help young people find their voices. I watch this happen when with Ireland's Youth Media Team, inside primary school classrooms, and with third level students during studio sessions.

During the first weekend in October 2018, I helped YMT.fm as the teens covered the annual conference of the Teaching Council of Ireland. The big interview happened during the first evening when both President Higgins and his wife agreed to separate interviews. And our YMT crew captured everything without a single hitch. Their work is part of a playlist on Spreaker.

This is an evolving initiative with young and Irish voices, germinating in 2013 with founders Pamela O'Brien from LIT.ie and Conor Galvin from UCD.ie. I got involved with technical details and now look after web hosting, audio hosting, image storage, and recording equipment.

We use a variety of handheld microphones to capture the best audio in noisy environments. The Shure SM58 is a mainstay (so durable), along with our battery-powered Beyerdynamic shotgun mic (helpful on/off switch) and the ATR 2100 USB mic. All three of these microphones can be used with the handheld recording equipment used by the Youth Media Team. Most of the students prefer to line straight into their smartphones and then use the Spreaker Studio app to record directly up to the shared audio content management system.

I plan to break out a few case studies about creative media production, using them with third level students who are completing degrees in Creative Media & Design and Digital Animation. There's an interesting workflow worth reviewing, especially for those who want to create content in dynamic live environments.

[Bernie Goldbach teaches creative media for business on the Clonmel Digital Campus. The Youth Media Team was interviewing Aoibhinn Ni Shuilleabhain in the top shot during #feilte2018. You can hear the interview by tapping into Spreaker.com/ymtfm.]

I’m a huge fan of roast chicken dinners. Obviously they are a family-friendly meal and I’ve yet to have a day where one of the family turns up their nose to a roast dinner.  One of the reasons why they’re a favourite is because a roast chicken is so thrifty. Once we’re finished our meal, I strip any remaining chicken meat from the carcass and use it to make at least one other meal.

The beauty of this noodle bowl is that you can make it a day in advance and it keeps well in the fridge if you’re preparing in advance of a day’s training. With the new recommendations that you should be eating 7 portions of fruit and vegetables per day, this bowl has you covered for at least a 3 if not 4 portions.

Chicken Noodle Bowl

• Servings: 4
• Time: 20 mins
• Difficulty: easy
• Print

• Ingredients
• Dried egg noodles
• 2 large carrots, peeled
• 3 scallions, chopped
• ½ cup of sweetcorn
• ½ cup of defrosted peas
• Punnet of cherry tomatoes
• 1 cup of cooked chickpeas
• Quarter head of fresh broccoli, chopped
• Cooked Chicken

For the dressing

• 3 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons runny honey
• Juice of 1 lime and 1 lemon
• Pinch of garlic powder
• Pinch of paprika

Method

Break up the dried noodles into a large heat-proof bowl. Pour a kettle of bowling water over the dried noodles. Cover the bowl with a plate and set it to one side for 10 minutes to allow the noodles to cook in the heat.

Put the dressing ingredients into the bottom of a very large bowl and stir with a fork so that they are all combined. Grate the carrots into the bowl, add the scallions, sweetcorn, peas, cherry tomatoes, chickpeas, and broccoli. Drain the water from the noodles, then add the noodles to the bowl and finally the cooked chicken breast.

Stir well so that all the ingredients are coated in the dressing and serve immediately, or portion into lunchboxes for the following day.

The post Chicken Noodle Bowl Recipe appeared first on Caitriona Redmond - Wholesome Ireland.

Meeting Sabina Higgins in Feilte 2018

If you missed Feilte 2018 and would like to listen to a quick compilation of the interviews created by the Youth Media Team, just fire up your podcatcher and download the YMT audio file. Or click and play the clip directly on the YMT.fm website.

We built and refurbished two play kitchens in recent years, but I thought it would be worth an update to share how well they have held up to significant abuse use. I’ll profile each separately since they’re quite different. The...

The post A Tale of Two Play Kitchens appeared first on EvinOK.

Friends in Presentation Primary School

After listening to President Michael D. Higgins and his wife Sabina talking to the Youth Media Team, a group of four students in Clonmel’s Presentation Primary School raised a few questions.

This story is developing.

[Questions from Siofra, Anjali and Aleezay. Audio by Sarah.]

There are so many talented and original hand-dyers in the world at the moment, but I’ve got to say we’re spoiled rotten here in Ireland. I recently lunched with Sandra Murphy (who isn’t an avid knitter) and leading up to the inaugural...

The post Woolly and Wonderful Hand-dyers in Ireland & Northern Ireland appeared first on EvinOK.

At Feilte 2018 with President Higgins

The biggest event of 2018 has to be meeting President Michael D. Higgins and his wife Sabina in the lobby of Mary Immaculate College during Feilte 2018. It was truly a group event that involved two main interviewers, three of the team taking photos, and two others with a back-up recorder for the special occasion.

We made a short clip that captured the moment from start to finish and hope you enjoy listening to it.

Recorded by Loran and Roisin, and Amy from the Youth Media Team.

For years I was under the impression that runners were slim and fast, who would zip past me as I was lumbering around a track. It’s only now, 10 months on since I started learning to run that I know this is a huge assumption to make. Runners come in all shapes and sizes, all speeds, and all different personalities, like (go figure) the rest of the population.

We all run for ourselves, not for anybody else. We run to achieve goals, to improve on where we’ve come from, or just to flipping complete a distance.

Looking back it’s remarkable how far I’ve come since I started to run in December 2017. This time last year I was short of breath even going up the stairs, I was struggling to get restful sleep, and my blood pressure was far too high. Running is not complicated but it can be intimidating so here is some of my advice if you’re worried about starting from zero fitness.

Starting out

Put one foot in front of the other: don’t focus on distance, focus on time spent running. If you can run for 30 seconds on day 1, then try running for 40 seconds on day 2.

Record your progress: use your smart phone, watch, or heart rate monitor to see how you are progressing. Don’t forget to celebrate when you accomplish a milestone too.

Finish lines, not finish times: learning to run is not about winning gold medals. Don’t get bogged down by what others are up to. By concentrating on your finish times it’s easier to see how far you’ve come compared to previous times.

Find support

Sign up for your local (free) Park Run, which is a free timed 5km run located in public parks and beaches all around Ireland. It’s a great way to get in touch with your local running community and find running buddies.

There are oodles and oodles of local facebook groups for runners. Mine is particularly supportive so I’ve scored the jackpot. Search in groups for your location and the term ‘running’ to see if there is anybody near you.

When you’re not running

Rest is just as important as a good run. You don’t need to run everyday for success. Your rest days are as integral a part of a training programme as running days.

Drink plenty everyday, not just before a run (trust me portaloos on racedays are grim). If you consistently hydrate you won’t need to take on board extra water on the shorter runs (5-10K).

Equipment

In truth you only need a pair of runners to get started. Lace them up and go. If you decide to invest more time in running however you will need to be fitted after a gait analysis. This involves you running up and down a shop in your bare feet with your trousers rolled above your knee (forewarning).

I use a shock absorber bra for running. There’s a very simple reason for this. If you’ve not strapped everything down the jiggle will chafe you and you will hurt more the following day. Get fitted for a proper shock absorbing bra no matter what your cup size. Personally I can’t recommend Arnotts highly enough for this service.

On the subject of underwear, nobody cares what you’re wearing underneath so just wear the big cotton knickers. Big knickers are comfortable, don’t ride up in the wrong places, and you’re not constantly pulling at yourself to readjust.

Keep on trying

A friend reminded me recently that I actually ran my first 5k road race over 3 years ago. However, it still took me to until last December to take the plunge and start running every few days. The intentions just took a little while to form fully after I set out to run that first time!

Disclosure: I’ve mentioned quite a few brands and shops above. I recommend them because that’s where I get my kit and I’m happy to spend my money there.

The post Running Advice For Beginners appeared first on Caitriona Redmond - Wholesome Ireland.

We met with St Michael’s infant school who formed a guard of honour for President Higgins on his arrival at #FÉILTE The students were delighted to have met President Michael D Higgins and happily recounted the experience.

Anna and Denis

Aoibhinn Ni Shuilleabhain at Feilte 2018 in Limerick.

Aoibhinn Ni Suilleabhain is currently a member of the School of Mathematical Sciences in University College Dublin researching and lecturing in Mathematics Education. She has also done work as a broadcaster after he success in the Rose of Tralee.

Jack and Amy spoke to her about how teachers can help students engage more in Maths and the importance of having girls take up more jobs in STEM. She also spoke about the advice that she would give to her Leaving Cert self and the opportunities that her involvement in the Rose of Tralee gave her. As a public figure she has successfully managed the balance between her public and private life and she shared how she manages this as well as sharing her favourite memory from her time in education so far.

[Interview by Jack and Amy, Youth Media Team.]

Roisin and Amy interviewed Sarah Jayne Carey, a computer science teacher in Colaiste Bride in Clondalkin, and Lorcan. a sixth year student from Borrisokane Community College. Sarah Jayne and Lorcan were part of a panel discussion on the 21st Century Classroom today at Feilte.

They spoke about the role of technology in the classroom from both a student and teacher perspective.   Lorcan then spoke about the distinction between being a digital native and digitally literate.  Sarah Jayne spoke about teaching adults and teenagers  and the difference in their digital skills.

 

Roisin,Cara and Amy

Youth Media Team

 

The Youth Media Team interviewed Eugene Wall, President of Mary Immaculate College at #FEILTE.

Eugene spoke to us about the importance of Mary Immaculate College hosting #FEILTE this year. He also spoke to us about his thoughts on the conference and his favourite part over the two days. Finally he told us about his favourite memory from being a student, educator and President of Mary Immaculate College.

Caitlin and Lorcan

Youth Media Team

The Youth Media Team talked with Sabina Higgins, wife of the President of Ireland. Sabina shared her important message for the young people of Ireland.

Sabina said, “Now is the most crucial and important time in the world. Because it’s the first time ever– because of what mankind has done in the last 200 years–that the planet is in danger of not being in existence”.

Sabina pointed out people are doing a lot of work on these problems. “In the United Nations, and then in Paris, 200 countries signed up to the Sustainable Development Goals. These are 17 little goals there. They’re no poverty, no hunger, good health and well being, quality education, gender equality, clean water and sanitation, clean and affordable energy, decent work, and it finishes up with action for climate change in land and in sea”.

The Paris Accords were a big deal. According to Sabina, “It was the first time in the world that countries across the whole world had one agenda.”

Sabina talked about how as young people we have access to all this information and that its a very exciting time for all this positive change to be happening. It’s a promising time. But it is also one filled with challenges. “You are the people that will bring those changes”, Sabina said. “So whatever area you’re interested in, know that you’re working, not just for yourself here, but for the world, the planet and that we’re all the same in the planet. And that we can do it.”

Sabina enjoyed the Feilte Exhibition. “There is nothing like the knowledge that you can have now,” Sabina said. “You know, when I was a girl, they didn’t even teach us about evolution!”

Sabina belongs we “are the people who have the most exciting task. And whatever area you’re in, it’s all connected, it’s reaching to others.”

[Interview by Anna Powell and Cara O’Brien]