Tornado Alley

      2 min read      Rural Issues · Technology

Growing up in southwest Wisconsin, tornado watches and warnings were a constant feature of summer life. As a little kid, I can remember trips to the basement to wait out the storm, and when I got a little older I got to join Dad on tornado watch for the local volunteer fire department. I can still vividly remember the night the tornado hit Barneveld, Wisconsin, and the phone rang in the middle of the night calling for ambulance volunteers.

Fame in the Family

      1 min read      Ireland

Our 11-year old niece Heather has been playing violin professionally with The Clauson Family Music Show for the past couple of years. Quite an accomplishment for such a young lady, but this past weekend she topped it. Heather, along with dad Steve and mom Vicky went to the Country USA Music Festival in Oshkosh. They got to see Alan Jackson, Carrie Underwood and a number of other big name performers. But Steve emailed the highlight of the weekend:

Public Policy CAN Change Behavior

      2 min read      Ireland · National/International Politics · Rural Issues

One of the things we had to adjust to when we moved to Ireland was taking our own cloth shopping bags to the grocery store. Why? Well, Ireland levies a €0.15 tax on plastic grocery bags, so every time we forgot to take our own (a lot, at first), we had to spend 30 or 45 cents to buy plastic bags. We’ve since gotten in the habit, and so no longer have to buy plastic bags, and thus no longer consume more scarce natural resources for both making the bags and then disposing of them.

Social Media

      6 min read      Technology      Professional · Technology

Social media is big in the tech business these days. Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn, del.icio.us, Flickr, and Twitter are just some of the companies at the forefront of using the web to connect us. Blogs count too. Just what is it? According to Wikipedia, “Social media describes the online technologies and practices that people use to share opinions, insights, experiences, and perspectives.” Got that? Don’t worry, nobody else does either. Assemble 10 tech consultants in a room and ask for their definition and you’ll be presented with 15 different explanations.

Cobh and Fota Wildlife Park

      1 min read      Ireland · Photography

This past weekend we made a visit to County Cork to check out the little village of Cobh. Kathleen has a group of students visiting, so her helper on the trip, Dana, joined us for the day. We had been to Cobh for a brief visit shortly after we moved here, but decided it was worth checking out again. We’re glad we did, as we found much more to see on this visit than the last one.

Innovation Can be Anywhere

      1 min read      Technology

Dyson, the company famed for a very expensive vacuum cleaner, has a new product called the Dyson Airblade. They aim to revolutionize the hand-dryer market. It’s hard to believe there’s room for innovation in a market like that, isn’t it? And yet, they’ve done it. I recently used one of their dryers in a public bathroom at a convention center in Dublin. It works, and we all know that’s unusual for a forced-air hand-dryer.

Wisconsin's Historic Pics Available Online

      1 min read      Photography · Rural Issues

The Wisconsin Historical Society has long held sales of photos from their archives, generally in a once- or twice-a-year sale in Madison. I’ve gotten several gems from these sales in the past. But now they’ve moved their sales online, and in the process greatly expanded the items available. The pic to the right is the first Wisconsin State Capitol in my hometown, Belmont. Click on the pic to get your very own copy!

Death and Taxes

      1 min read      National/International Politics · Technology

Wonder where your federal tax dollars go? A freelance graphic designer by the name of Jess Bachman has designed a poster that shows in simple form the breakdown of the federal budget. It’s a great example of graphic design being well-used to present a ton of information, and it’s a simple way to envision what the federal government is spending your money on. Check it out.

My First Irish Photo Publication

      1 min read      Ireland

A few weeks ago I was contacted by the editor of Start magazine, a free arts and culture monthly published here in southeast Ireland. He was doing a story on a series of lunchtime concerts being held in St. Iberius Church in Wexford, a beautiful 300-year old church. He searched online and found the photo above that I had taken on a visit to the church, and contacted me to ask if he could use it.

Street Performer's Competition

      1 min read      Ireland · Photography

This past weekend Kathleen and I were in Dublin for a couple of events. We managed a short visit to the Street Performance World Championship in Merrion Square. Though we didn’t get to see much of the show, we did see part of the final performance by the Space Cowboy, who won the competition for the second year in a row. The Space Cowboy is from Australia and actually earns a living as a street performer.