What’s your most controversial opinion? **Read OP** **Mod Note in Post #3372**

Sure. Why are you so hung up on your birthday? I assumed most adults didn't really care about having a birthday party.

I always celebrate on the day - even it's during the week. It's not the same otherwise.

Happily my 40th fell on a Saturday so I had a party on that day.

Really? My Mrs has to remind me of my birthday and ask what i want to do. Always end up doing something at the weekend. On the day, I just send my mother a thanks message for giving birth to me. Maybe it's just me who doesn't care about birthdays.

Yeah, of course. They can do whatever they want with their birthday. Celebrate it on the day or at the weekend when it suits them. I'm really surprised people are so touchy about birthdays. Nobody can take your birthday from you. That seems to be the big issue and it's safe

Taking people's birthdays from them? Maybe they wouldn't have to age then if they have their birthday taken form them? Sounds like the new calendar could give them immortality.

Borthday snatching aside, what else do you think about it?

The manyr that leads to innovation...

The improved calendar wouldn't need you to look it up. You'd just know because it's intuitive.

OK, well we just won't do it then.

People that arrange/agree to their 40th/50th (ie not a surprise party) are desperate attention seekers. Scarlett for them.

Not actually a bad idea, technically speaking. Makes plenty of sense.

Personally, I'd go with a 13 month Calendar, 12 months of 30 days and one national holiday period of 5 days (around Christmas and called Christmas) where everyone has the 5 days off, and which would incorporate the 6th day in leap years (Christmas would itself be on the 3rd day of this month.).

So if we were starting fresh, January to December would all have 30 days, and then you'd have Christmas National Holiday which would be the 1st, 2nd (Xmas eve), 3rd (Xmas Day), 4th (Stephens Day), and 5th would be New Years Eve. In a leap year the 6th would be New Years Eve.

Birthdays to be adjusted accordingly.

Obviously, it'll never happen and is pure fantasy, but an even calendar makes plenty of sense over the current one.

Compulsory military service if you're between the ages of over 21 and below 25 is not a bad idea if a certain circumstances were to be met.

• If you've not worked more than an accumulated 90 days from the age of 18.
• If you've been in receipt of social welfare continuously since turning 18.
• If you haven't attended school or college for more than 90 days since you turned 18.
• Have not registered an attempt at employment or furthering education since turning 18.

There's plenty of way the said compulsory armed services could be put to use in this country, such as helping out with national infrastructure plans, manual labour, community service, as well as standard military service. The army has plenty of learnable skills, be it engineering be it mechanical or electrical or construction, computer skills, legal matters, etc, that they certainly won't get sitting at home on their arse.

In the circumstances almost all of them are on the dole anyway, so topping it up by €150 for their efforts would not cost the country too much, and the country could have a dedicated workforce towards national projects and a skills development programme to counter act increased cost.

With the caveat of course, that it amounts to a four day week, with the other allowed for pursuing employment or further education, and if you receive an offer of employment or a placement for further education you can leave and take up those offers immediately, and you must maintain those positions for at least 6 months otherwise you are redrafted.

It would be one way of dealing with the problem of youth unemployment, the lack of numbers in the military, and providing them with some sort of education, be it knowledge or technical, to young people.

It's not a slave wage, and it's not a full week's work either (4 days). It's €370 for what is essentially a a four day a week military service kind of CE scheme for young people who haven't worked or tried further education for a number of years.

Maybe you're right, say the €150 top up on the dole is when you're going through the first 6 months (training), and after that bump it up a bit after that if you're staying on. The point is they learn a skill or have a body of work behind them, the army gets the numbers, and the state gets some service out of it.

To be honest in hindsight, it need not be military service. Compulsory civil/public service should also be an option.

Either way, having them sitting on their arse for a couple of years on the dole which is a much worse option, in my view.

If any member of the British Royal family (apart from Harry and Megan) murdered someone they wouldn't be brought to justice.

James McClean is a dumbass.

I 100% support his decision not to wear the poppy and I don't blame him one bit for not wearing it however he clearly gets off on winding people up on twitter about his stance and he's somewhat demeaned what in more sensible hands would have been quite a dignified statement by being so childish on social media over the years.

Irish society of years ago used to be tied in with with a lot of the good of traveller culture and it is a pity it has been lost -

1) A strong family unit - with clear demarcation of roles within it

2) Loyalty/Honour

3) Guided by faith - so there was a strong sense of doing the 'right thing' there was structure because of that

4) Hard work - I am not talking about the minority who pretend to tarmac your drive nowadays and just draw the dole.

But since time has moved on the settled community has dominated which has made the travelling culture aimless and lost. As the need for education and society's movement away from manual work has added to this.

If the general Irish society returned to these 'Traveller basics' along with universal education Ireland would be much the better for it.

Yeah they are going around lost now, and the culture fits in nowhere with the general Irish population.