Gore and geeks

It's cooled down a few degrees, but the sun is remarkably persistent. I brought my sunglasses more as a joke than anything, but have actually needed them this week.
Today I went to the National Museum to check out the bog bodies, remains from human sacrifices from pagan times that have been preserved remarkably well (disturbingly well, really) in the Irish bogs. One still has hair, one has perfect hands (down to his manicured nails), and one even has a face, which was pretty gruesome but very cool. There's also big chunks of bog butter on display, which was either sacrificed or simply lost (I guess bogs used to serve as refrigerators; whatever works, I guess, but I'm happy enough not to have to clean peat off my butter).
I also went to the National Library. Membership is free, and I had the romantic and geeky idea in my head that I wanted to read some James Joyce in the place where he himself used to study. I walked in confidently enough and asked to apply for membership, but then the guy at the desk thoroughly intimidated me by grilling me about what my exact purposes were, down to the specific material I wanted to read. I guess browsing isn't an option there. I mean, I understand why they have to be cautious--they have a lot of very old and very valuable texts there--and I did get a day pass in the end, but really, I think this library is a little intense for me. I don't think Joyce would mind if I read Dubliners in a pub instead. In fact, I think he'd prefer it.