The snail in Dunnes stores

There's a lovely Indian checkout lady in my local Dunnes. This evening my worlds had a little collision when she noticed a snail on the checkout. I had to quickly put it in my shopping bag and explain that my gardening tools and the shopping bags live in the same van, and I was on my way back from renovating a lovely pond garden, so it was probably my responsibility... Fortunately she is a sensible lady with no fear of any animal except snakes, something she's unlikely to encounter in Dunnes.

Of course the snail could as easily have crept on to the bag during Belgooly Show yesterday (a great day was had by all - see http://www.facebook.com/belgoolyshow - we now have over 500 facebook fans! ).

Or it could have been lurking on my horse equipment. My van's a bit of an agricultural vehicle really. Requires harrowing rather than hoovering. But fantastically useful and reliable, thank you Peugeot workers vintage 2000. Wish I could afford to upgrade to a new one but as long as there's life I'll have to keep driving this one (179,000 miles and counting...) despite its snail-like speed.

Earlier today I was thinking about the shapes of ideas and research posters for a presentation at CELT on Thursday (see http://www.nuigalway.ie/celt/conference/conference2010.html ). So far I've come up with starburst project/organisation descriptions, 2 col comparison, 3 col "magazine", circle/process, single column/image, grid games (snakes and ladders), triangle/interactions. I think snail spirals for startups might be an addition!


The other presentation I'm trying to (s)nail is one about portfolio careers and "thinking differently" about employment opportunities for disability (UCC Disability Support careers conference Friday 11 June). In some areas, since I did that disability and teleworking conference and information newsheet in 1997, things have changed dramatically (eg twitter/texting communications for people with hearing disabilities). In others they haven't.

The same abilities are required whether able bodied or disabled - communications, punctuality, reliability, teamwork, competence in a skill area that's in demand. The same basic rules apply - go for a large organisation with its own HR function as these (particularly public sector) employ the vast majority of those with registered disabilities. If you want to telework, you need a professional level skill where people trust you to manage yourself, whether or not you are disabled.


Jeez, it's a bank holiday. Where's my glass of wine? The snail's in my own garden now, by the way...