Inside View from Ireland: Tsunami of Change

I WILL WALK INTO the Berlin Intercontinental Hotel nearly four years after the day Ruth and I enjoyed a hot pot of coffee. We were watching a Sky News report without sound as a gigantic tsunami swept away the lives of an island nation. An overhead satellite captured the moment (see above and see amateur footage). Whenever the end of December approaches, I wonder how Sri Lanka has recovered. I also look at issues that were running through my head at the time.

Beginning Moleskine. By late 2004, I had followed the lead of Antoin O Lachtnain and Eammon Fitzgerald and bought a Moleskine journal because I like its tactile feel. A colleague followed me, going further into the inventory and bought me a pocket-sized Moleskine for carry-around use. That's handy because you never know when you'll be struck by a eureka moment.

Book-buying Habit. During my first 10 years in Ireland, I cultivated a book-buying habit. It normally involved spending hundreds of dollars every year in Hodges & Figgis, motivated by discount vouchers that I rarely used. Today, my habit has evolved to buying books online.

iTunes the Habit. Apple had sold 200m total songs on its iTunes Music store in early December 2004. While it took Apple nearly a year to sell its first 50 million songs--before it opened the service to customers on Windows--it took only another four months to break the 100 million barrier, three more to break 150 million, and then two months to break 200 million. Says Eddie Cue, Apple Vice President of applications: "We like the way this curve is looking." Last month, I dropped €34 into iTunes. I would have spent more if the files were in MP3 format.

Berlin Covered Me. I found inexpensive protective sleeves for my CDs while visiting Berlin in 2004. I also found that I could get protective CD/DVD covers that prevent scratches and smudges. They can be left on at all times and don't affect playback while protecting your discs. They add hardly any bulk, which means they will work with both slot-loading or tray-loading drives.

It will be interesting to see what I discover in Berlin this time around.