Dennis Deery

Dirty Car Pictures That’s pictures of dirty cars, not… Well. Check it out, it’s cooler than it sounds. (tags: art)

[Microlearning.org - Learning, Working & Living in New Media Spaces](http://www.microlearning.org/) Microlearning emerges when new media keep breaking the world into work, knowledge, communications ... all is falling into small digital fragments, loosely joined and permanently rearranging to form a multitude of new patterns, tasks and threads. (tags: [microlearning](http://del.icio.us/ddeery/microlearning) [learning](http://del.icio.us/ddeery/learning) [elearning](http://del.icio.us/ddeery/elearning) [e-learning](http://del.icio.us/ddeery/e-learning)) [Sketchcasting](http://sketch.basement.org/) An interesting new way to present visual ideas or enhance audio presentations. (tags: [blogging](http://del.icio.us/ddeery/blogging) [sketch](http://del.icio.us/ddeery/sketch) [whiteboard](http://del.icio.us/ddeery/whiteboard))

[Eternal Sunset](http://www.eternalsunset.net/) View live sunsets from around the world via webcam. (tags: [sunset](http://del.icio.us/ddeery/sunset) [webcam](http://del.icio.us/ddeery/webcam) [photography](http://del.icio.us/ddeery/photography)) [Lemelson Center](http://invention.smithsonian.org/home/) Read the stories behind some of the world's most famous (or not) inventions. (tags: [inventions](http://del.icio.us/ddeery/inventions) [innovation](http://del.icio.us/ddeery/innovation)) [Against Depression - dervala.net](http://dervala.net/2006/12/17/against-depression/) A beautifully-crafted firsthand account of depression. (tags: [health](http://del.icio.us/ddeery/health) [depression](http://del.icio.us/ddeery/depression)) [MapMSG.com - Statetris](http://www.mapmsg.com/games/statetris/usa/) Play Tetris on a map of the United States. (tags: [games](http://del.icio.us/ddeery/games) [geography](http://del.icio.us/ddeery/geography))

[Bill Gates' Harvard Commencement Address](http://www.news.harvard.edu/gazette/2007/06.14/99-gates.html) Harvard's most famous dropout returns 30 years later to get an honorary degree and deliver the commencement address. (tags: [gates](http://del.icio.us/ddeery/gates) [harvard](http://del.icio.us/ddeery/harvard)) [Social Explorer](http://socialexplorer.com/pub/home/home.aspx) An interactive mapping site based on U.S. Census data. Easy to use and produces good looking maps. Data geeks rejoice! (tags: [maps](http://del.icio.us/ddeery/maps) [demographics](http://del.icio.us/ddeery/demographics)) [PhotoshopCafe](http://www.photoshopcafe.com/index.htm) A collection of resources and tutorials for Photoshop users. (tags: [photoshop](http://del.icio.us/ddeery/photoshop) [Tutorials](http://del.icio.us/ddeery/Tutorials) [graphics](http://del.icio.us/ddeery/graphics)) [Springwise](http://www.springwise.com/) Springwise highlights new business ideas for entrepreneurs.

Check out NASA’s Astronomy Picture of the Day web site for a very cool photo of an astronaut floating free in his manned-maneuvering unit (jetpack). He’s a long way from home!

An Associated Press article from this past weekend describes a new breed of remotely-piloted vehicle, called the Reaper, that the U.S. Air Force is preparing to deploy to Iraq. This plane is similar to the Predator aircraft which has been used throughout the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, mostly for surveillance activities. The Reaper, as the name hints, has a different mission. Armed with bombs and missiles, the Reaper is an attack aircraft.

Neocons on a Cruise A reporter’s account of the National Review cruise to Mexico. An unvarnished look at the kind of people that got us into Iraq. Worth a read, if your stomach is strong. (tags: Conservatism Politics)

[Monty Python Video Wall](http://monty.python.videowall.sytes.org/) A page of Python - guaranteed to fill your workday with laugher. (tags: [video](http://del.icio.us/ddeery/video) [montypython](http://del.icio.us/ddeery/montypython)) [64squar.es](http://64squar.es/) Online chess, realtime or correspondence. Wanna play? Challenge me - dennis@irose.com. (tags: [chess](http://del.icio.us/ddeery/chess))

The 37signals Manifesto 37signals is a company producing some of the best web apps out there. Read their manifesto and you’ll see why. They’ve got their focus in the right place. Some items are web-specific, others could be applied to any company. (tags: manifesto 37signals philosophy)

Just wanted to let everyone know that Kathleen and I have decided to stay in Ireland for another year. We’re still working out some of the details on where we’ll be living and such. Will post more here when I know more. In the meantime, if anybody needs a house to rent in Menomonie, we’ve got one! We’ll be back in the States for most of August, and of course we’re going to try to see as many people as we can while we’re there.

I made my way to Limerick yesterday for the biweekly geek gathering that is OpenCoffee Limerick. OpenCoffee is a worldwide movement that encourages entrepreneurs, tech people and investors to gather in an informal manner for networking. There are a couple of vibrant groups here in Ireland, in Limerick and Cork. I’ve been following some of the online discussions resulting from these gatherings, but hadn’t made the effort to attend in person.

[Tasty Data Goodies - Swivel](http://www.swivel.com/) Upload data and create your own graphs, or view graphs created by others. (tags: [data](http://del.icio.us/ddeery/data) [statistics](http://del.icio.us/ddeery/statistics) [graphs](http://del.icio.us/ddeery/graphs) [visualization](http://del.icio.us/ddeery/visualization)) [mkmap.com: create and explore maps!](http://mkmap.com/) Create your own maps. This site got it's start as a Dublin bus map put together by a Dublin City University grad student. Great example of what's possible with the Google Maps API. (tags: [maps](http://del.icio.us/ddeery/maps)) [Iconize Me!](http://www.iconizeme.com/index.html) Get your own caricature in electronic form for only $50.

Okay, so it’s taken me long enough. But I’ve now activated comments on this blog. See the little link down below there, “Share Your Thoughts”? Click that and you can enter your very own comments on my web site. I’m going to try to keep it as loose and open as I can for the moment without being overwhelmed by spammers. So, let’s hear it! And hey, try to keep it clean huh?

After nearly a year driving on Ireland’s roads, we’ve learned that you have to pay close attention all the time because you never know what you might see. It’s not at all unusual to see herds of various types of animals being herded down the middle of the road between fields. So, you plan extra time for any trip, and stop and wait when you have to. This past weekend Kathleen had a meeting in Portlaoise, so early Saturday morning we headed up the road.

A couple of weeks ago Senator Hillary Clinton addressed the National Rural Assembly via a video link-up. This gathering of 400-people, part of the Kellogg Foundation’s Rural People, Rural Policy initiative, was an effort to highlight the issues facing rural areas, and to broaden the discussion beyond agriculture policy, which has generally been the focus of rural policy efforts. To that end, during the Q&A session following her talk, Senator Clinton was asked by one participant if she, as President, would consider changing the name and mission of the Department of Agriculture to the Department of Rural Affairs.

I wrote a few days ago about a blog post by Conor O’Neill suggesting a method of encouraging startups. Conor touched off quite an online discussion among various bloggers here in Ireland. Check the links below to catch up on the discussion, then I’ve got a few more thoughts to share.* Conor’s original post * My original response * Further responses from: * Joe Drumgoole * Bernie Goldbach * Damien Mulley * Alan O’Rourke * David Copithorne *

Following his July 4th celebration, author Scott Berkun posted an interesting question on his blog (for my American readers) - when was the last time you read the Declaration of Independence or the U.S. Constitution? I’ll confess to being a bit of a geek, so honestly it hasn’t been that long for me, just a few months. If it’s been a while, you should click the links below and go read them, if for no other reason than they’re beautiful pieces of writing.

Conor O’Neill of Argolon has a great post on his blog discussing a method of jump-starting tech startup companies in Ireland. I think his ideas are right on the money, and relatively easy to put into action anywhere. The idea centers around creating a summer “hothouse” to help college students get rolling with ideas for new products. To his list of ideas, I would add just a couple of suggestions:

 Tramore Beach - 9:45PM

Anyone who’s spent any time watching CSPAN lately knows that public policy debates in the U.S. often center on dramatic stories. Opposing sides compete to see who can bring the most tearful witnesses to the table, who can show the most heart-wrenching photos, or who can present the most dramatic anger. That’s a natural tactic. Policy discussions, like most debates, are a sales job, and good salesmen are those who are able to make emotional connections.