[07:50] <czajkowski> Greetings from sunny Dublin
[07:50] <czajkowski> aloha
[07:50] <tdr112> hey czajkowski
[07:51] <czajkowski> it's soo sunny!
[07:51] <czajkowski> :D
[07:51] <slashbel> good morning!
[07:51] <slashbel> supermacs for breakfast?
[07:58] <czajkowski> nope
[07:58] <czajkowski> had breakie on the flight over :D
[07:58] <czajkowski> landed in hotel and working :)
[08:08] <ebel> hello!
[08:14] <czajkowski> ebel: howdy doody
[08:18] <ebel> yo yo
[08:18] <ebel> Glad to be back in Dub?
[08:28] <czajkowski> well frm my hotel it looks fab :p
[08:28] <czajkowski> back to back meetings till 3
[08:28] <czajkowski> and then off to Ryanair HQ and then meet up
[08:29] <czajkowski> sleep and 6am flight back to UK
[08:30] <slashbel> busy time!
[08:32] <czajkowski> just a tad
[08:32] <czajkowski> w2hich is good
[08:32] <czajkowski> but also could do with some down time also
[08:32] <czajkowski> conference season is just a tad manic
[08:34] <ebel> business travel, hardly a holiday
[08:35] <slashbel> conference season ends soon, doesn't it?
[08:35] <slashbel> afterall Europe shuts down in a couple of weeks
[08:36] <slashbel> when i was working conferences, July and August were always dead months
[08:37] <czajkowski> slashbel: yeah but I look after USA also :)
[08:37] <czajkowski> so OSCON this week, then we have an devcon boston, droidcon nyc
[08:37] <czajkowski> then in september we kick off our conferences
[08:37] <czajkowski> so next april is quiet and that's when I get married :)
[08:37] <slashbel> ah yes, the USA - no holidays there ever
[08:38] <czajkowski> nope
[08:38] <czajkowski> they really frown upon them
[08:38] <czajkowski> so they are baffled EMEA shuts down now
[08:38] <czajkowski> they get very crnaky wen you say no peoplare taking 2-3 weeks off
[08:38] <slashbel> hate to break it to you, but you might have a good bit of organising to do for the wedding too ;)
[08:38] <czajkowski> baffles them
[08:38] <czajkowski> slashbel: all done
[08:38] <czajkowski> ah hello this is me :)
[08:38] <czajkowski> all bar my wedding cake to do
[08:39] <slashbel> very good
[08:43] <ebel> Very well prepared! :)
[08:43] <ebel> Heh, one proposal for the global OSM conference next year is in Sept, and it's close to the US May Day / Labour day
[08:44] <ebel> and it's traditional to meet family then.
[08:44] <ebel> Suppose if that's your only 3 days off per year, you don't want to give it up :P
[08:49] <czajkowski> yeah they do watch their limited free days
[08:53] <slashbel> and here's us thinking that 30 days annual leave is not enough
[08:55] <psyatw> it is really not enough
[08:55] <czajkowski> I've unlimited
[08:55] <czajkowski> very USA VC way of getting people i the US on board
[08:57] <slashbel> with unlimited leave, how many are you allowed to take?
[08:58] <czajkowski> unlimited
[08:58] <slashbel> you can take 90 days?
[08:58] <czajkowski> obviously dont be a pita about it and take it at critical times like end of quarter
[08:58] <czajkowski> slashbel: no idea nobody tried to take that much off in one go
[08:58] <czajkowski> one guy has just taken 3 weeks off
[08:59] <czajkowski> and is taking another 3 in september
[08:59] <ebel> I'm very skeptical of "unlimited holidays" seems like "unlimited salary"
[08:59] <czajkowski> well indeed
[08:59] <czajkowski> if used right it's great
[08:59] <slashbel> how many days do you take off?
[08:59] <czajkowski> but if you can never take it, it becomes not worth it
[09:00] <czajkowski> I'll be taking 3.5 weeks off for wedding and honeymoon next year and no problem
[09:00] <ebel> Remember, if you don't take holidays you are assigned then that's a liability for the company's books.
[09:00] <czajkowski> and I;ll take 2 this summer and 3 at xmas
[09:00] <czajkowski> ebel: not sure companies see it that way
[09:00] <czajkowski> and the day old ability to carry forward seems to be long gone
[09:00] <ebel> but "unlimited" means that they technically owe you nothing, so if you only take 10 days, then the books are good.
[09:01] <slashbel> they cannot take away your legal entitlement
[09:01] <czajkowski> did oh indeed
[09:01] <czajkowski> so under UK contract lawa I think they ahev to state the min 20 days
[09:01] <ebel> I think company's accountants might view it a liability. Legally in Ireland IIRC you had to be paid for them.
[09:01]  * ebel would be worried about some VC company full of bros who want to work 60 hour weeks and would pressure people into not taking any holidays
[09:02] <slashbel> i am already pissed off with current place here that it seems the norm to work after 17:00
[09:02] <ebel> still, if it work for you... fair enough
[09:04] <czajkowski> aye bit of give and take tbh
[09:04] <czajkowski> I do reguarly work till 11 at night on calls with the US
[09:04] <czajkowski> so then take days off here and there at a drop of a hat is fine
[09:04] <czajkowski> so give and take works both ways
[09:04] <czajkowski> during the hot spell recently I just emailed saying taking day off and that was fine
[09:05] <czajkowski> no filing in request forms and getting sign off
[09:05] <czajkowski> flip side is I;m gone for next 12 days travelling for work so you know
[09:05] <czajkowski> have to find something that suits you as well
[09:05] <ebel> I'd be afraid of working for a wanker who's being a dick. Which you have no way of knowing before starting.
[09:05] <czajkowski> well indeed
[09:06] <ebel> and then you'd have no recourse.
[09:06] <czajkowski> I prefer working for larger companies
[09:06]  * ebel is cynical
[09:06] <czajkowski> so you tend to have less stuff like that
[09:06] <czajkowski> but then again sometimes shite just happens
[09:06] <czajkowski> :)
[09:06] <ebel> true true
[09:08] <ebel> suppose, so long as you take care to take enough time off to make up etc. :)
[09:08] <slashbel> aye, and i feel that i spent far too much time in my twenties working. i now spend as little time as possible working
[09:10] <czajkowski> slashbel: hehe you're priceless
[09:11] <czajkowski> ebel: aye, dont get me wrong, there are weeks when I'd love a day off to sleep and releax and even do housework but I'm too busy. Joys of a VC start up and working on a global team as a global role. I'm busy :)
[09:11] <czajkowski> but they are a nice bunch
[09:11] <ebel> That's good. I totally get that it can be a good trade off for some.
[09:11] <ebel> and can be very good or very bad.
[09:12] <ebel> I remember seeing a gaming company in Ireland offering "unlimited holidays". Knowing gaming, I knew exactly what that was.
[09:12] <czajkowski> I think the trend will continue to increase offering it
[09:12] <czajkowski> as it's a big new US perk
[09:13] <ebel> USA the land of no legally entitled holidays!
[09:16] <ebel> Any funny stories from working for a big US comp? Cultural clashes etc?
[09:18] <czajkowski> I find myself now asking for the cheque!
[09:18] <czajkowski> to pay the bill
[09:18] <czajkowski> I still refuse to write with Z's
[09:19] <czajkowski> I'm knackred really does get you some odd looks
[09:21] <ebel> hehe, we had a US company send us a USD cheque to pay for something.
[09:21] <ebel> Blew my mind when I learned they still use them.
[09:21] <tdr112> cheques are still in use
[09:22] <tdr112> I used them for TOG all the time
[09:22] <slashbel> SEPA ftw ☺
[09:22] <ebel> tdr112: for what?
[09:25] <tdr112> paying bills, paying people ,
[09:26] <tdr112> cash has no trail, harder to keep records
[09:26] <tdr112> SEPA is the way forward
[09:27] <tdr112> only looking at it for a product for work
[09:28] <czajkowski> SEPA ?
[09:28] <czajkowski> oh cheques are the bain of my life!
[09:28] <czajkowski> forever in the frigging mail!
[09:32] <tdr112> czajkowski: its a new way(since last year) to move money around the euro zone with very low fees
[09:32] <tdr112> everyone has an iban number and bic
[09:32] <slashbel> or very fast, with a higher fee
[09:32] <ebel> zero fees, isn't it?
[09:32] <tdr112> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Single_Euro_Payments_Area
[09:33] <slashbel> we paid our apartment deposit with the fast option, i received an email from our landlord a few hours later thanking us for the payment
[09:33] <slashbel> *from AIB account
[09:34] <tdr112> Also its makes it easy to do direct debits,
[09:34] <czajkowski> ahhh
[09:35] <slashbel> you would think so, but we needed a German bank account to do direct debits here
[09:35] <czajkowski> the last time I transfered cash from UK to .Ie I was charged £25 to do so
[09:35] <slashbel> we should have been able to use our Irish accounts
[09:35] <czajkowski> so now I lodge money onto my Caxton FX card
[09:35] <czajkowski> and just withdraw it from ATM in >Ie
[09:35] <czajkowski> no charges
[09:36] <slashbel> we can still withdraw cash from any ATM in Germany with our AIB cards sometimes cheaper than we can with our German cards
[09:36] <slashbel> aye czajkowski, life would be much easier if the UK got with the programme
[09:36] <czajkowski> https://www.caxtonfx.com/
[09:36] <czajkowski> I use this a lot for my US travel
[09:36] <czajkowski> just text top up and it's there
[09:36] <ebel> yeah non-SEPA places can have a flat fee
[09:36] <czajkowski> often do it at the cash point if I need to top up and dont have enough dolalrs on me
[09:37] <czajkowski> exchange rate right now from Sterling to Euro is very good
[09:38]  * slashbel makes note to move remaining savings out of UK
[09:38] <slashbel> now is a good time
[09:38] <czajkowski> very much
[09:38] <czajkowski> hand y when paying for a wedding
[09:38] <slashbel> aye
[09:38] <slashbel> you're going to limerick?
[09:38] <slashbel> for the wedding
[09:38] <czajkowski> today ? No
[09:38] <czajkowski> for the wedding yes
[09:38] <czajkowski> castleconnell
[09:38] <slashbel> home! ☺
[09:40] <czajkowski> yeah had a wee grumble about the HSE over their monday - friday lark
[09:41] <czajkowski> so we may end up doing the governement bit in the UK and then ceremony -humanist in .IE
[09:41] <ebel> yeah, it's ridiculus.
[09:41] <slashbel> yep, the best we could do for ours was 3.30pm on a Friday
[09:41] <ebel> Humanists can be solmnizers in IE. So they can do all the legal stuff. Maybe get a registered humanist solmnizer?
[09:41] <czajkowski> nope
[09:42] <czajkowski> I still need the HSE part
[09:42] <czajkowski> so they only work monday - friday
[09:42] <ebel> Really? Cause priests are solmnizers, so they can do all the legal stuff there.
[09:42] <czajkowski> yup
[09:42] <czajkowski> priests are different it seems
[09:42] <czajkowski> and that was the whole fuss before election
[09:42] <czajkowski> if they didnt do the HSE part any more
[09:43] <czajkowski> the HSe would grind to a hault and no weddings would happen due to backlog
[09:43] <czajkowski> lemmie find hte article this week
[09:43] <ebel> no, priests are legally solmnizers. Up until recently only relgious bodies were able to be solmnizers
[09:43] <czajkowski> had a massive rant online with John in .Ie who is getting married
[09:43] <ebel> but they changed it allow humanists to be solmnizers now.
[09:43] <ebel> When we got CPed that law wasn't in, so we had to use HSE.
[09:44] <czajkowski> http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/fears-of-chaos-after-vote-on-equal-marriage-342088.html
[09:44] <ebel> yeah, the priests could withdraw, but that doesn't change the law.
[09:45] <czajkowski> no
[09:45] <ebel> e.g. there are muslim, prodestant, pagan, (oodles of evangelical christian solmnizers)
[09:45] <czajkowski> hmm maybe I am confused then
[09:45] <czajkowski> but from what I read and heard and talked ot the HSE about, I still need the legal bit done by them if I wish to get married in ,Ie and they will not come out to a venue at the weekend.
[09:45]  * ebel counts 20 registered humanist solmnizers.
[09:46] <ebel> http://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/birth_family_relationships/getting_married/religious_marriage_ceremonies.html
[09:46] <ebel> The law has only changed recently. Perhaps you were speaking to someone who has forgotten
[09:46] <ebel> You need to legally give notice to HSE, ~3 months before hand. But you can get the ceremony done (i) in a registry office (ii) by a HSE person (iii) by a registered solmnizer
[09:47] <ebel> (i) & (ii) is the Mon-Fri 9-5 job. (iii) can be weekend, but used to be only religious bodies, but now humanists can do it
[09:48] <ebel> There's even a Celtic Monk on the Aran islands who can marry you
[09:49] <ebel> http://www.aislingarann.ie/index.html
[09:49] <czajkowski> http://www.weddingsonline.ie/suppliers/yes-i-do-ceremonies  is the person I had chosen
[09:49] <czajkowski> as I didnt want to say I do in a registry office
[09:49] <ebel> yeah registry office is a bit... meh
[09:49] <czajkowski> I know others do but I dodnt want that and don't want a church wedding so trying to do it a me why but keeping some things traditional
[09:50] <ebel> Course, I had a friend recently get married and it was humanist.
[09:50] <ebel> And I think there's tight competition for the registered solmnizers
[09:50] <ebel> So it's legally possible, but it might not be *easy*.
[09:51] <ebel> Knew someone else who had a Spiritiualist wedding. Relatively generic, pretty traditional, but not Catholic.
[09:51] <ebel> (that would fall under 'relgious' in law)
[09:52] <ebel> And yeah, it's your day. Ye do what ye want.
[09:52] <ebel> No matter what happens, *someone* will be annoyed
[09:52] <ebel> Just make sure it's not the two of you.
[09:52]  * ebel flees for lunch