Gavin Shields

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Learning: vote for serious, competent people to lead your country. theguardian.com/politics/2025/…

At @DublinAirport you have to add 30-60 minutes to your flight time for the baggage wait. Or don’t check bags…!

@DublinAirport how often does your blue parking bus run? So far I’ve been waiting 35 minutes and your website says it’s every 15. What’s the actual timing?

I learnt today that @easyJet will seat a TWO YEAR OLD child away from their parent on the plane! The only way to be seated next to each other is.... you guessed it... to pay!!! If this isn't already illegal, it should be.

Do not go to the @SSEBelfastArena for a show. Hour plus wait getting out of the car park with screaming kids after Disney on Ice.

@tylertringas What a brave post. Sorry to hear about what you've been through but wish you all the best with whatever route you end up going down.

Sharing this because at the time I felt unbelievably alone and maybe this will help someone else feel less alone: almost 3 years ago I got a surprise diagnosis that it would be almost impossible for me to have biological children of my own. I'm otherwise in great health. So when my wife and I went to a clinic after nearly a year of trying without success, I was shocked to learn that I was producing almost zero viable sperm. There wasn't actually even much of a diagnosis, just guesses that it could be a genetic issue, or a possible complication of a surgery I had as a teenager, but the simple facts were that having kids was going to be almost impossible for me. The conversation with the doctor was head-spinning and within five minutes had turned to a discussion of how to work with a sperm donor, an idea I'd never even contemplated before. We took notes and a bundle of brochures and decided to think it over. I knew, in a statistical sense, that fertility issues were a widespread challenge across the developed world. But my anecdotal experience of other couples I knew dealing with infertility had always been in the context of women, usually past their mid-30s, struggling with pregnancy and miscarriages. I had personally never heard of anyone in my family or network dealing with male infertility. So even when we walked into the clinic that day, the possibility of being infertile myself was not even on my radar. It turns out that in 1/3 of fertility cases in the US, the male partner is the primary concern. So I guess it's simply the case that men are talking about this far less than women are, or at least that has been my personal experience. I felt like I had been hit by a truck. We drove home half-delirious in a swirl of shock, pain, and determined to do more research. After consulting with some of the leading male infertility specialists, we learned that almost impossible is not the same as impossible. A relatively new surgery to directly extract sperm combined with IVF was an option for us, albeit not one with a very high chance of success. After 10 months of consults, hormone therapies, and testing, an exhausting rollercoaster from glimmers of hope to setbacks, we went for it. The procedure was just successful enough to be heart-breaking. We briefly were able to fertilize two embryos, none of which survived long enough to be implanted via IVF. At this point I moved from determined optimism to grappling with the fact that, barring some major new scientific breakthrough, I would never be able to have biological kids of my own. This was tough. I never had any doubt that I wanted kids and was really looking forward to fatherhood. My own father passed away when I was two years old. Even though I barely knew him, I'm told by those who knew him that I am exactly like him in a million different ways. I was and am proud of the father I never knew, proud to be like him and grateful for genetic gifts from him, and without ever really thinking about it that much I was looking forward to passing those on to another generation. I didn't realize until I was faced with this reality how much the prospect of having kids, passing on genes, and raising them was a primary structural scaffolding for how I thought my life would have purpose and meaning. Having that possibility ripped away by surprise raised a very tough question for me. What does it mean to live a purposeful and fulfilling life without the possibility of having kids? It wasn't a question I'd grappled with before. My wife and I made a huge mistake by not immediately starting counseling as soon as we began navigating this. The stress, uncertainty, and heartbreak took a toll, stressing existing cracks and forming new ones in our relationship. 15 months ago we separated and divorced. In less than two years almost all the pillars of the plan I had for my future—a wife, a family, and the life we would build together—evaporated. I found myself with a big hole in my heart and a blank slate for what to do with most of my life. Today I'm in a very good place. Far better than I ever expected to be this soon after. It's been a year filled with leaning heavily on friends, family, and community. A journey of deep introspection, challenging work, and personal growth. There's much more to do but I've learned more about myself, my relationships, and my purpose in life in one year than I did in the prior 36. I'm not yet ready to share much more about that journey yet, but I will at some point I'm sure. For now I have both an offer and an ask. An offer: if you're dealing with infertility, I'm happy to share any information I learned from the process and also more than happy just to talk privately. You are not alone. ❤️ An ask: This year I'm planning to learn more about adoption and I'd love to speak to folks who have done it and find any good resources. I don't want to knee-jerk jump from "I can't have kids" to "Plan B: I should adopt." I'd like to learn as much as I can and come to an independent decision on whether and how I should do it. Just getting up to speed on it, much less doing it, seems like a daunting challenge from what I've heard. Any insights, advice or resources would be very much appreciated. 🙏

I don't think I've ever nodded along to a thread on price increases before now....

@JohnCleese Sucked in to dumb click bait I see John…

Why is our system so loaded in favour of the very rich ? Did we ever vote for this ?

@Rudolph_Cos I have noke at two sites and can’t fault them. Customers can move in and out without any staff time, door locks have held up well (two issues in 4 years!) and it makes the whole business much more focused on efficiency. Customers seem to love it too.

Re: Improvements I've been grappling w/ adding Nokē smart locks to some of our properties This would be a significant investments at ~$300/door Nokē would make operations easier But how much true value does Nokē add to a property? Anyone w/ experience on this?

@sweatystartup Why are you ignoring Ireland for the golf trip!? Count me in for Scotland...

A few things I want to do over the next 12 months: 1) Rent a place in Park city for my family for a month. 2) Spend a week on a sailboat in the Virgin Islands. 3) Kayak float trip for a few days with a few guys. 4) 5 day Elk hunt with bow in Colorado. 5) 8 man golf trip to Scottland. 6) Tarpin fishing trip in FL Keys.

@bairdk @JTMartingCRE I’ve been doing this for 4 years in Northern Ireland. Two sites, both in tertiary locations. ~150 units each, no on-site staff, weekly cleaners, online bookings and smart entry on the doors. Works great!

@JTMartingCRE Yes, my properties are all in tertiary markets (4-30k population). 80-260 units each.

Can a self-storage facility run with no on-site employees?

@Rudolph_Cos I’d love to hear it!

Ever noticed how the Storage REITs always seem to have promos running at the facilities they operate? That's because they understand LOS (length of stay) The REITs are willing to give concessions on the front end They know the average LOS is greater than the length of the promo Let's say the average LOS is 13 mos, they are willing give 1 - 3 mos of 50% off the standard rate and make up for the lost rent during the promo period (ie concessions) on the back end after the promo expires REITs lay on fees (admin fees, etc) to make up for some of these concessions Takeaway: getting a tenant in the door is as important as the rate the tenant pays. Drop a comment in the replies if you would like to see a detailed post on how to affectively utilize promotions based on supply & demand

@RobertJenrick is utterly depraved. A soulless disgrace in a government seemingly void of a conscience. How can anyone ever vote for these people again?

@SorchaEastwood So sorry

An update on my Dale for all of you who have been asking x

@storasoftware is on Product Hunt today. Please help us by clicking on the below link and upvoting (click on the up arrow) us. Thanks! producthunt.com/posts/stora

Completely agreed.

@DerrenBrown 💯

I must be morally dim - I don’t see why a TV presenter’s intimate business should lead to public persecution. Makes me so uncomfortable. Having to ask friends why anything terrible has happened, why it warrants such shaming, and why it’s supposed to be endlessly my business.

@lukesophinos @storasoftware: self storage SaaS (note I have a bit of a bias…!)

Who should've made the list that didn't? Who else should be highlighted? Let me know!

Bain Capital Ventures just released their Top 50 Emerging Vertical SaaS Companies List. The list, company breakdowns, and some highlights are included. Dive in below👇

Today I went to Bow Street Mall in Lisburn.

@Aazarshad ads

Steal my 6 proven Facebook ad hacks: 1. Thumbnails 2. City-based offering 3. Specific Storytelling 4. Instagram placement 5. Calling out your persona 7. Home page vs dedicated landing All for free. Like & reply "ads" & I'll DM you the link to the file. (must be following)