(no subject)

How can I learn Irish?
Books
From amazon.com:

Teach Yourself Irish Complete Course, CD package by Diarmuid O Se (talks about grammar the whole way through, which is annoying or great depending on your point of view)

Learning Irish, Text, Audio, and Self-Tutor (Boxed set) by Micheal O'Siadhail

Irish On Your Own by Eamon Donaill (comes with cassettes, focuses on Ulster Irish pronunciation)

There are more books available on these sites:

http://www.litriocht.com, look under Education > Teaching Materials

http://www.cuplafocal.ie - look under Learners - also buys & sells used Irish-language books

Buntus Cainte, available with either cassette or CD (starts you off very basic and simple, doesn't discuss grammar but you can see how sentences are built)

Gaeilge agus Fáilte - published by Gael Linn

Progress in Irish is also good Máiréad Ní Ghráda

DVD series from RTE.ie:
http://www.rte.ie/tv/turasteanga/ Turas Teanga is a book, CD & DVD series aimed at helping people brush up on Irish they already know, and for learners to hear spoken Irish from all around the country.

Practice:

http://www.nuacht.com Ireland's daily all-Irish newspaper.

http://www.rosnarun.com/ Ros na Run is an Irish-language TV serial, you can read over the plot synopsis in Irish, or in English

http://www.rnag.ie Raidió na Gaeltachta, Irish language radio station from RTE, Ireland's national broadcaster, streamed audio from their website

http://www.tnag.ie TG4 (pron. tee-gee-cahar) is the Irish language channel from RTE, the national Irish TV broadcaster

http://www.daltai.com/ You can learn about classes in your area or immersion weekends in North America.

Learn more about Ireland in general, if you don't live there:
http://www.rte.ie/
http://www.rte.ie/aertel/
http://www.irishexaminer.com/
http://www.ireland.com/

How do I type fadas?
You could cut and paste from here: ÁÉÍÓÚáéíóú

(no subject)

I'm trying to cook a roast of beef, and getting nowhere with my fahrenheit/pounds cookbook and 540g roast. Joy of Cooking is useless; it blathers on about nothing but crap.

I think the answer is a meat thermometer. For the time being I am cutting the meat open to determine its doneness.

I have it down when it comes to chicken breasts: 300g, 350F, 30 min.

Beef seems to vary too much in size and shape of the meat, and whether I forget to put the lid on the baking dish.