Ronan O'Driscoll's Blog, page 2

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Along The Cole Harbour Road was an excellent resource when I was researching Poor Farm. Recommended for anybody interested in our local history.

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Happy Birthday to Chief O'Neill, the man and the pub!

All The Broken Places by John Boyne

All the Broken Places by John Boyne

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


John Boyne is an excellent stylist and in All The Broken Places, he perfectly juxtaposes 91-year-old Gretel's narrative with alternating chapters unveiling the conflicted story of her life. She has a horrific past, one she has a guilty conscience about, yet there is no easy resolution in the kind of redemption she achieves at the end.



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James by Percival Everett

James by Percival Everett

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Wow! I started reading "James" thinking it might be an interesting angle on the classic, I was unprepared for an actual modern day classic. This book will stay with me for a long time, especially as a warning to how complacency can set in on the horrors of history. I think I have to read a lot more Percival Everett



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Blood In The Machine

Blood in the Machine: The Origins of the Rebellion Against Big Tech by Brian Merchant

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


"There is a Spectre haunting Europe, the spectre of Luddism."

Marx knew the value of a good story and so invoked Shelley's Frankenstein. Brian Merchant's Blood in the Machine shows how the spectre Mary Shelley was, in part, referring to were the Luddites destroying looms in Northern England. Both Percey and Byron were invested in the cause and she was Godwin's daughter, an important socialist thinker of the time. As a student of her work, I did not realize how important that historical context is.

This is only one aspect of Merchant's multi-faceted history and call to arms. Much of the historical parts show how misrepresented the followers of the mythical Ned Ludd were. In revealing how they were a giant labour movement advocating for better conditions in the England of the 1810s, Merchent also draws vivid parallels to the "gig" economy of Uber drivers and Amazon fulfillment centres. In the end, that is what makes Blood in the Machine so relevant.

The book ends pointing out how little difference there is between the inventors of the 19th century and the Tech Bro boy wonders of our day. As our jobs get more and more precarious and automated away, the same arguments are being used by these powerful men: It is inevitable, the robots are coming for your jobs. That's not the full picture. It is they who want to use tech to amass more wealth for themselves. The Luddites knew that and we should follow their example.



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Shift: Silo Trilogy #2

Shift by Hugh Howey

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Decent second act of the Silo trilogy. Howey is a master of world-building. The concept of powerful politicians in Washington deciding to end the world and just silo 10,000 Americans for the future is not that far-fetched when you think of the suicidal logic behind Mutual Assured Destruction. I particularly like Solo's back story. It was a real homage to Mary Shelley's The Last Man. The corridors of cryogenically preserved "chosen few" being reanimated from the dead has subtle echos of Frankenstein as well. I suppose the whole concept (like a lot of scifi) owes a debt to her great work.



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I'm thrilled to announce the upcoming performance of the incredibly talented Irish music duo, Matt and Shannon Heaton, at the iconic Chief O'Neill's Pub in Chicago on Friday, April 12th. As a lover and amateur player of Irish music, I've been lucky enough to visit this venue – a true gem that I believe Francis O'Neill himself would wholeheartedly approve of!...

My Review of Nora by Nuala O'Connor

Nora: A Love Story of Nora and James Joyce by Nuala O'Connor

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Nuala O'Connor has equaled the famous husband in her portrait of Nora Joyce. What a memorable voice and fascinating insight into her life, children and the writer himself. The last chapter of Ulysses is famously inspired by Nora and here is an excellent complement to that voice.



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My review of Fancy Bear Goes Phishing

Fancy Bear Goes Phishing: The Dark History of the Information Age, in Five Extraordinary Hacks by Scott J. Shapiro

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Accessible history of computer viruses, botnets and other malevolent creations of the internet era.

Shapiro is very good at tracing the common themes through over fifty years of hacks. One thing in particular that stood out was it is almost always disgruntled young men: either in Eastern Europe or some American suburb. When the FBI was hunting for the people behind the notorious Mirai botnet, they were looking for Russian or Chinese hackers (with just cause), not realising it was a trio of American teenagers. Shapiro notes how these young men don't consider what they do as malicious and generally "age out" of the activity. It would be interesting to more fully explore the sociological and psychological background of this cohort.

I also liked the book's distinction between "upcode" (the social norms that govern our behaviour) and "downcode" (the computer code directing the hardware to do its job).
All-in-all, a worthwhile read, especially if you are new to the cyber-security field.



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Richie Piggott has done it again! Richie is a friend of mine and the author of the wonderful Cry of a People Gone, an authoritative history of Irish music in Chicago. Through his research and contacts, he has come into possession of previously unreleased letters from Francis O'Neill to Patrick O'Leary. Transcripts of the letters can be read on Richie's site:...