The coffin carrying the remains of Dolours Price, followed by mourners including her ex-husband Stephen Rea, is carried from her home to St Agnes’ Church in Andersonstown, West Belfast.
EX-IRA Woman’s Funeral Underway In West Belfast (BBC)
(Lauras Hutton/Photocall Ireland)
Spotted in the Grand Canal near Drimnagh Luas stop.
(Thanks Cathal O’Rourke)
Intermezzo: the instant hypnotic/sedative sleep medicine you may only ever need once.
How this Kevorkian dust ‘early-wakening treatment’ ever made it past the FDA in the States is anyone’s guess. But it did.
Dublin city within the last hour.
Thanks Johnfpor
Last Friday, Bloomberg reported on Denis O’Brien’s whirlwind trip to the World Economic Forum in Davos.
One of those he met was Stephen Schwarzman (top), the CEO and chairman of private equity firm, Blackstone.
It was reported O’Brien gave Schwarzman his phone number and business card.
And well he might.
Last February, the Sunday Independent reported that IBRC (formerly Anglo) hired Blackstone to advise it on how to sell its loan book.
Which is a large book that includes the €500 million-plus owed by Denis.
Billionaire O’Brien Finds Linger Free Zone In Davos (Bloomberg)
(Bloomberg, Photocall Ireland)
Via John Breslin
Over the weekend, the above animated gif did the rounds on Twitter billed as being akin to “opening a portal to hell”.
But what exactly is going on?
Enter io9 with the science bit (and a nice long video):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ritaljhhk7s
Igniting mercury(II) thiocyanate causes it to decompose into an insoluble brown mass that is primarily carbon nitride, C3N4. Mercury(II) sulfide and carbon disulfide are also produced.
2Hg(SCN)2 → 2HgS + CS2 + C3N4Flammable carbon disulfide combusts to carbon(IV) oxide and sulfur(IV) oxide:
CS2 + 3O2 → CO2 + 2SO2
The heated C3N4 partially breaks down to form nitrogen gas and dicyan:
2C3N4 → 3(CN)2 + N2
Mercury(II) sulfide reacts with oxygen to form mercury vapor and sulfur dioxide. If the reaction is performed inside a container, you will be able to observe a gray mercury film coating its interior surface.
HgS + O2 → Hg + SO2
Well that explains that.
Being such a spectacular reaction, it was marketed in Germany as Pharaoschlangen (“Pharaoh’s snakes”). In the tradition of all great fireworks of bygone times, it was incredibly dangerous:
All aspects of the reaction can be hazardous, including handling the mercury thiocyanate, breathing the smoke or touching the ash column, and contact with the remains of the reaction during clean-up.
What in the name of all that is holy is going on in this video? (io9)
