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MASTERCARD IS TESTING out a new service to help protect purchases made on credit cards abroad by using your smartphone’s location.
The service, which is in pilot mode and requires cardholders to opt-in, will only allow card transactions when users have their smartphone switched on in that general location.
The idea is if you’re in Dublin and someone tries to use your card in London, the transaction would be rejected since it knows you’re not in the same location.
The aim is to help reduce fraud and help credit card companies make faster decisions. Said companies can check the location of your smartphone to see if you’re in the same place as your card, and approve or reject a transaction using that information.
Mastercard is considering offering prepaid data packages as well which phones users can purchase when they arrive at their destination. It sees this as an opportunity to allow businesses and mobile networks to provide targeted offers and coupons to those using the service.
The service is being developed by both Mastercard and telecommunications service company Syniverse, but neither company has said when they plan to make it available.
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I know science (and met eireann) dictates otherwise, but this is as i was taught: (sourced online)
seasons in Ireland today still follow this ancient Celtic tradition, which is based solely on daylight and the strength of the noon sun. As such, the seasons of the year are observed in Ireland as follows:[citation needed]
Winter (“Geimhreadh”) – November, December, January (Samhain, Nollaig, Eanáir)
Spring (“Earrach”) – February, March, April (Feabhra, Márta, Aibreán)
Summer (“Samhradh”) – May, June, July (Bealtaine, Meitheamh, Iúil)
Autumn (“Fómhar” Harvest) – August, September, October (Lúnasa, Meán Fómhair, Deireadh Fómhair)
Well said
Lá Fhéile Bhríde cinnte. Agus tosaíonn an samhradh Lá Bealtine agus an fhomhair ar an gcéad lá mí Lughnasa agus an geimhreadh tar éis oíche shamhna. Nach bhfuil sé de mhisneach againn cloí leis na féilte stairiúla atá againn seachas ag déanamh athraise ar ár “máistrí” béarla.?
Well they’re not my masters, but I completely agree because the historical dates have a better connection to the seasons and nature. And while we’re at it we could ditch the ‘Naomh’ from Brigid. That’s a bit too recent for my liking :) (wish I had your fluency in ár teanga fhéin)
Maistri sasanach?
Tosaíonn earrach nuair a láithreoidh daffodils, nuair a thógáil na héin a neadacha. nuair a fheicimid tráthnónta gile. nuair níl thriomú maith amach arís. fhéadfadh sé a bheith ar an 1 Feabhra ag féilire ach tá sé nuair a fheiceann muid nádúr
What !
Cén fáth na Sasanach?
Basically it’s spring once the flowers start coming out, the birds building nests, once nature has came alive again not any one date
Dhun on Doras!
Spot on Mary, that usually happens within two weeks of either side of March 1, so if you live in the country March 1 is it, but if you live in place like Dublin, with the concrete ticking your arse, the only visible sign is the length of the days so it appears be February 1st. Either-way nature doesn’t care what humans think.
Spring officially starts on the 1st of February…
But when spring itself decides to start only God knows…..
You wouldn’t even get odds off Paddy Power for that….
Met Eireann regard 1st of March as the first day of Spring.
That’ll be the first of October then
Since when did spring “officially” start on February 1st ?
This is Ireland. We’re luck if it happens in June.
Well looking out this morning & judging by the weather we have in store its certainly not spring out there today…
When you see the crows flying with twigs in their mouths building their nests.
February/March/April Spring
May/June/July Summer
August/September/October Autumn
November/December/January Winter
Or so we were told in school…
That’s silly because August is usually the best month of Summer. Think about it
Revised seasons: Winter: Dec- March.
Rainy season: April – September and most Bank Holiday weekends.
Summer: One decent week any time June or July
Summer (part 2) The first week in September when the schools go back – weather is always good
Autumn: the rest of September until the start of Winter.
Definitely not the 1st February anyway, that’s still the depths of winter.
Always assumed March April May to be Spring, June July August as Summer, September October November to be Autumn and the winter months to be December January and February. But does any of it actually matter nowadays?
Guess it doesn’t really matter. However, you can’t have mid summers day (June 21st) in the first month of summer.
I always thought Summer started 1st May and based the rest of it off that
No it’ll rain non stop regardless
I always said it was the 1 of febuary that’s what I was always thought in school
That’s a very city-centric view, the reality is March 1st
1st of March according to Met Eireann.
They also say it’s raining in Cork.
I’m in Cork.
It’s not raining.
I grew up in the north of England, spring started on the 1st March.
Can we expect a yellow Spring alert from Met Eireann?
21st March according to my calendar !
I know 1st of Feb is the old pagan/Celtic date, but it still makes most sense to me today. The longest darkest night is in the middle if the winter, and longest brightest day is in the middle of the summer.
Spring is March 1st -> May 31st.
The old Celtic calendar is based upon light rather than temperature with December 21st being the halfway point of “that” winter.
The USA use December 21st as the start of winter!
I love the “its Ireland, it’s always cold and rainy” comments. How many articles did we have last year about the summer? Polls about how to stay cool at night? That sort of thing.
Not until the vernal equinox!
Vernal equinox or Spring equinox that is the proper date.
Here in Ireland it seems to be different using the 1st of February or 1st of March, probably related to farming duties.
The difference between 1st Feb and 1st March dates comes from us being an island nation.
The solar spring starts in Feb due to the length of days and strength of sunshine.
However the meteorological spring (which is based on average temps) starts in March as the ocean/sea around us takes longer to warm up and offsets our seasons by about a month.
Yet another definition of spring start is based on certain flora blooming and gives rise to an old riddle: What takes 6 weeks to get from lands end to john o groats, has no wheels or legs, and moves faster uphill than downhill?
June 21st is midsummer, in terms of astrological seasons.
This makes 21st December “mid winter”, these are the solstices, the longest and shortest days respectively.
The equinoxes in spring and autumn are the dates when there are equal parts day and night, these are “mid spring” and “mid autumn”.
The mid points between these dates are:
1st Feb, 1st May, 1st August and 31st October.
It makes sense that in astrological terms these dates mark the beginning and end of each season.
Meteorological spring is based on temperature, so it makes sense that they would follow sometime behind. But to say spring starts at the equinox? This would mean that summer starts at midsummer and winter starts at mid winter. That’s one I have never heard of..
Feb,march,April,3 months of spring, defo
Two new born lambs in the field next to me, spring in my book. ;)
Spring does not start on the 1st of February anywhere in the northern hemisphere……..except for Ireland. FFS, it’s the 1st of March
It’s not spring, I had crows banging on the heating fan outside my window at 8:00 am trying to get out of the rain..
Who said you have Summer in Ireland? A bit of Spring yes.
I’ve lived in the US long enough to realise that our auld seasonal dating kinda needs a rethink. (though I also remember being horrified when I first learned the seasons were different over here!)
I mean, November’s not cold enough to be winter, and February’s too cold to be spring. May is barely summer, and August, usually our hottest month, is about as autumnal as April!
I’m a big fan of sticking with tradition when traditions make sense, but I think we’re on the end of linguistic losing battle with this; and as climate change makes the seasons all the more intense, it’ll only make the need for a rejigging all the more clear.
Spring? Tell that to the monkeys I saw queuing outside the welders earlier.
Spring starts when you see couples at it down lanes after the nightclub lol.
Spring begins when that weird cat starts hanging around outside our cat lap, and he started unusually early this year.
have your say