You’ll also love the free web technology conference – the dot conf - being hosted by the National College of Ireland on July 22nd. It’s a fantastic opportunity to go and listen to some industry experts and a great way for NCI to promote their new MSc in Web Technologies course.

There is a diverse list of speakers, from journalists, educators, web professionals and technology advocates – all experts in their fields. As well as some “deep dive” sessions (hands-on workshops).

Personally I’m really looking forward to checking out the National E-learning Laboratory, who recently published some pretty interesting data on what Irish people pay attention to when using Facebook.

Conferences like these are a great networking opportunity (especially if you are self employed or “between projects” at the moment). Bring you business cards and wear your hottest geek tshirt, you just never know who you might bump into.

NCI is based in the IFSC – possibly one of the easiest places to get to in Dublin, so there’s no excuse not to attend.

Though my direction may have changed recently I still have a personal interest in 3D, augmented reality and Location based Services. Also, it’s good business sense to keep up to date with these emerging technology trends.

Talks of Interest to me?

Mark Campbell from eMedia will be discussing 3D iPhone Apps.

From my old haunt IADT, Frederic Herrera from Create Ireland will give an overview of the applications of the VLab (a Cave – Computer-generated Automatic Virtual Environment) based at IADT – something I keep meaning to go and experience for myself.

Speaking of IADT, another 3D orientated talk will be given by my old HCI lecturer Ciaran McGuinness from Computer Clubhouse, the technology centre for young people in the heart of the Liberties.

Members from TOG will be showcasing  3D printing with a CupCake CNC machine – the seriously cool open source 3D printer featured in the video below.

Paul Lee from Viewsion will be discussing the business uses for Google Apps such as SketchUp, Earth, and Maps.

Steve Plunkett from Red Bee Media will be addressing the changes in television, including the effect of 3D and the internet. Should be a really interesting one considering the recent Google TV announcements.

Check out the full list of talks and register to attend this fantastic free technology event here.

A big thank you to Damien Mulley,  Willie White from the Project Arts Centre and Alexia Golez for the hours of fun we had participating in and winning the Dublin Tweasurehunt on Saturday.

Team “Invasion of the Booty Snatchers” was a combination of old friends and new ones led by the lovely Dena. Though we were exhausted by the very end, it was worth every heart pounding second, taking us all over Dublin 1 to places I’d certainly like to revisit (possibly at my own pace though!). Overall a great bit of exercise and loads of fun. Check out the #tweasure hash tag on Twitter to read all the buzz about it and check out the brilliant video below.

Dublin Tweasure Hunt from Jentertainment on Vimeo.

The increase in rain fall over the Summer might have something to do with why there aren’t any small birds visiting my garden any more. Cold and rain equals less insects, so I wonder if that has meant they’ve moved on or the chicks didn’t survive to Autumn. Though the crows and magpies certainly are benefiting, they’ve been knocking our full bird feeders over and gorging themselves. Cheeky buggars.

I wish the sparrows, finches and robins would come back to brighten these dreary days.

From the Institute of Neuroscience at Trinity College Dublin:

We wish to recruit members of the general public age 18-90 to our volunteer research panel. We study various aspects of human behaviour such as memory, attention and thinking. Our research aims to increase our understanding of how the mind and brain work, with a view to trying, in the longer term, to develop methods for assessing and treating conditions such as age-related memory problems and attention deficit disorder.

Volunteers who can easily reach central Dublin may be invited to take part in one or more studies, and if they do, a nominal honorarium will be offered.

Please leave your name and number at 01 89628684 before 3rd August.

I’ve called them up and left my name and number on the answering machine and I’m very much looking forward to volunteering my time to Science. 

It’s a pity that Irish research projects don’t reach out online, the same way that the Irish Blood Transfusion Service don’t, as pointed out by Damien. They are really missing out on the abundance of altruistic internet users and the numerous socially persuasive situations online (blogging, twitter, messageboards, etc.,) that would enable researchers and organizations to recruit many more volunteers. These kinds of blog posts are the first step though.