KEY MOVEYou're killing time in the airport lounge before a flight.
As you sip a €6 espresso you notice a guy at the bar, tapping away on the counter as if he's typing. Only he doesn't have a keyboard. What a psycho, you think, and hope he won't be beside you on the flight. But he's not nuts. He's using a virtual keyboard, an ingenious device that may solve the problem of those tiny keys on your mobile - and make your phone a computing all-rounder, ready for anything from games, photos and music to e-mails, browsing and PowerPoint presentations. The technology uses a tiny laser to project an image of a full-sized keyboard onto a flat surface. Infrared motion sensors interpret your finger movements as you "type", then replicate the keystrokes on screen. The technique was invented by a Californian company a couple of years ago; now it has been made the basis of stand-alone devices, about the size of a mobile, that connect to your phone (or PDA, laptop or PC) wirelessly, via Bluetooth. The most readily available is the i.Tech Bluetooth virtual keyboard, which costs €155-€175 from www.expansys.ie, www. shopireland.ie or www.virtual-laser-keyboard.com.
The next step is incorporating the technology into mobiles, which should terrify PC giants such as Dell and HP. Phones can already pack as much processing power as home computers did a decade ago; if yours came with a virtual keyboard, why would you bother with a PC at all? Michael Kelly
WORD OF THE RINGS
The origin and symbolism of the Claddagh ring is woven into an adventure story, Claddagh: The Tale of the Ring, by Patricia McAdoo, that will delight readers in the 7-11 age group. The paperback tells the story of Richard Joyce, designer of the ring, with illustrations by James Newell. It is an action-packed yarn that is likely to be devoured in a single sitting. Published by Galway Online, it is available from bookshops nationwide, at €9.95.
PAPER CAPERS
How many art courses offer small numbers, low prices and the opportunity to produce a decoration for your home? Papermaking and printmaking classes at the National Print Museum, Beggar's Bush, Dublin 4 keep classes under 10, don't charge the earth, and introduce participants to ancient crafts. Next Saturday and Sunday, from 11am to 4pm, Tunde Toth will teach a group of no more than 10 adults how to create handmade paper from recycled materials. Tickets cost €65 for two days. On February 18th and 19th, from 10.30am to 5pm, Gráinne Dowling will introduce a class of five to printmaking using drypoint and carborundum techniques - which produce beautiful, ethereal prints such as the image above. Fee €80. All materials are provided, although for the printmaking class students should bring an object or photograph to work from. Book on 01-6603770. Conor Goodman
SHARP STENCILS
Will St Leger's first exhibition, Artivism, has just opened at the Front Lounge pub, on Parliament Street, Dublin 2. St Leger, a contributor to the Face, Dazed & Confused and other magazines, has used stencils to campaign against illegal logging, nuclear power stations and oil companies. Some of the newer ones are directed at the Ireland he came back to after 10 years in the UK. One has Michael Collins carrying a Chanel shopping bag (right), in a dig at consumer society - what St Leger calls "the duty-free state". Twelve tongue-in-cheek stencils on canvas, fusing popular and historical icons, are on display until the end of the month. Nicoline Greer
DRAWING ON EXPERIENCE
Everyone paints and draws as a child, but, as adults, many of us find it daunting to pick up a paintbrush.
Now the National Gallery of Ireland is out to prove that anyone - even older people - can be artistic. As part of its lifelong-learning programme, it is running Art for All Ages, a week-long festival that starts on Monday and runs until Sunday, February 12th. A highlight of the festival is a series of drawing classes by the artists Clodagh Emoe, Felicity Clear and Diana Copperwhite. Also taking place are poetry readings by Bealtaine Writers' Group, themed tours and talks, including a lecture on the painting above, A Breakfast Piece, from 1651, by Pieter Claesz. All events and materials are free, and no booking is necessary. More details from 01-6633506. Eimear McKeith
SWEET LITTLE THINGS
Though barely two months old, they have travelled from Ireland to Brazil, Abu Dhabi, Australia, Scandinavia and the US. They are Ireland's latest artisan chocolates, made by hand in Dundalk by a company called Danucci, which was founded by two food-loving accountants, Mark and Michelle Lowth. The range consists of four collections, each with a high cocoa content and made with ingredients sourced from all over the world. As well as superb "mouthfeel" (as they call it in the trade), the chocolates have pretty decorative patterns, and look as tempting as they taste. Danucci chocolates can be found in Cavistons, Glasthule, Co Dublin; Mortons, Ranelagh, Dublin 6; Donnybrook Fair, Dublin 4; and Gibneys, Malahide, Co Dublin. They can also be bought online at www.danucci com. They cost about €25 for 25 chocolates. Deirdre McQuillan
VIENNESE WHIRL
This month Austria is all in a spin, with the waltz season under way. If you can't make it that far, head to the Helix, in Dublin, on Wednesday or Thursday for the Vienna Strauss Gala, which kicks off the Strauss Season there. Soloists from British opera companies will perform selections from operettas. Meanwhile, on the floor, the dresses will be full of flounce and bustles as professional dancers in full costume waltz the night away. Tickets from €22 at the box office, 01-7007000, and www.thehelix.ie. Nicoline Greer
SPICE TRAIL
Dr Ahmed Jamal, originally from Pakistan, and his wife, Suzanne, from Co Monaghan (below), used to cook a korma for their friends that "always went down well". After the Pakistan earthquake, the couple decided to contribute to their Pakistani family's relief efforts by creating little packets of spices along with recipes. They expected to sell just a few hundred, but so far they have already raised about €70,000. Four sites have been identified in rural villages to rebuild schools. If you would like to buy one, send a cheque for €5 to Suzanne and Dr Jamal, Rahmatt, Flemington, Balrath, Co Meath. Nicoline Greer
A TOTAL TURN-OFF
Another closing-down sale is on in Dublin. Handcraft Lighting, on Wicklow Street, Dublin 2, closes on Monday; all chandeliers, table lamps, standard lamps and shades have been reduced to clear until tomorrow at 6pm. Prices start at about €30 and most reductions are up to 75 per cent. Mirrors and small furniture will also be reduced. The Baker family, who also own Hicken Lighting, on Bridge Street, Dublin 8, have been trading for 70 years: twentysomething Niall Baker is the third generation involved in the business started by his grandparents with a lampshade factory on Clarendon Street, on the site of what is now the Brown Thomas car park. The shop is closing because of the rising costs of running a business in the area. At Hicken Lighting, on the other hand, it's business as usual. Handcraft Lighting, 10 Wicklow Street, Dublin 2 (01-6778520). Eoin Lyons
WHITE OUT
One of our favourite shops - the Far Pavilion in Bray, Co Wicklow - is closing down at the end of the month, and an everything-must-go sale is now in progress, with 50 per cent off a very covetable selection of stuff, most of it with a French country feel: hurricane lamps, tableware, cushions, boxed coffee sets, glass decanters and a few useful wall units, benches, bookcases and armoires. Chandeliers that were already reduced to €165 are now €82, for instance. Anabell Hewat (below) has had the shop for seven years and is ready for a new challenge. She detects a lull in the market just now, with too many suppliers offering the same wares, such as painted furniture in whiter shades of pale. So what's next for her? She couldn't say, but in the interim she feels there is a welcome move back to auction rooms, such as Mullens of Bray or Buckleys of Sandycove for period treasures and one-off bargains. Real in, repro out. The Far Pavilion, 55 Main Street, Bray, Co Wicklow, 01-2762533 Buckleys, 27 Sandycove Road, Dún Laoghaire, 01-2805408. Auctions Thursdays, 2.30pm. Mullens, Woodbrook, Bray, Co Wicklow, 01-2826107. Monthly auctions. Patsey Murphy