Brandon's Blog

Creative Lego Creations - a gallery

2009-09-01T19:00:00.003-05:00

The Speckyboy design website always has some great articles on web design and other related topics, but I had bookmarked a blog post several months back, and recently re-discovered it after cleaning out some old bookmark links I had saved for later viewing. I have re-posted some of my favorites here in this post, but check out the original post on Speckyboy.com for more great models.

The Last Chance Saloon

I'm not sure which Star Wars battle this is, but who cares?? It's pretty awesome!

Reminds me of Amsterdam, just down from the train station.

OK. Dungeons & Dragons AND Lego? You know I had to post this one.

Star Wars takes over the art museum

2009-06-18T17:30:00.000-05:00

Something Awful has a funny photo montage of classic artwork, but with a Star Wars twist. Check it out here if you are a nerd.

Is your desktop PC a little bland? Give it to one of these modders and they'll fix that problem for you!

2009-06-08T07:06:00.003-05:00

I've always been interested in case modding - not quite enough to undertake case modding myself, but I do appreciate a good case mod when I see one. I ran across a link this morning that shows some pretty amazing examples of case mods, so I want to share it. Head over to PCWorld's article to check them out!
Some of my favorites are the Bender (from Futurama) case mod, the steampunk-themed PC (pictured above in this post), and of course, the obligatory R2D2 mod was my personal favorite. I'd love to see a case mod that looks like an old Atari 2600 or an old 8-bit Nintendo. I'd proudly display either of those in my living room!

Really...I'm not a Star Trek hater, but this was just too funny not to share.

2009-05-08T10:59:00.003-05:00

This is a funny video I saw while doing a little internet surfing this morning. I'm definitely a much bigger fan of Star Wars than Star Trek, so I had a little chuckle while watching this.

Things that make you go "hmm"

2009-05-08T10:50:00.003-05:00

Do you think this guy is going to see the new Star Trek movie? Hmmm. (see the pics of this guy's bachelor pad here). In other news, people who will most likely remain a bachelor.... :)

Nerdy Google Maps

2009-05-07T15:17:00.002-05:00

I'm a bit of a map nerd (if you ask my wife, I'm just plain old nerdy), so not surprisingly, I've come across a list of some neat Google maps. Cnet has an article here that lists a few that I found interesting. For these and other cool maps, check out the Google Maps Directory.

Awesome high-altitude phoitography - on a budget!

2009-03-17T13:42:00.004-05:00

Any fans of high-altitude photography should check out this article on Make Magaizine's blog on the Meteotek high-altitude balloon project.

See some of the pictures below (clicking the image will take you to their Flickr page):

For all you fans of Legend of Zelda and Hip Hop...

2009-03-17T13:20:00.006-05:00

Do you like Hip-Hop music? Zelda? I found a great mash-up online today on Crunch Gear and I want to share it with any fans of the Zelda series or hip hop music (or both). I wasn't expecting too much (I've heard some pretty crappy mashups), but I was pleasantly surprised by this one. Enjoy it at 8Tracks.com.

Doom-Diablo clone

2009-03-15T20:44:00.003-05:00

I ran across a pretty exciting idea for a video game cross-over today; a game that combines the old Doom universe with the Diablo series. It's certainly not a top-of-the-line game in terms of graphics or flashy efects, but given that I loved both of these games when they were originally out, this serves as a nice piece of nostalgia. And hey- since I've got two kids, I rarely get to play games any more, so anything where I can combine my fun with two old classics at the same time, I'm all for it. Check out the game here (still in early development at this time).

Tired of looking at depressing economic statistics?

2009-03-10T13:21:00.003-05:00

Try these musical statistics on for size! I found a funny link today that breaks down some of those inherent truths found in popular songs into nice pie charts and other assorted graphs. If you have trouble visualizing what a song might be telling you, or you're more into the whole being hyper-analytical thing, you'll enjoy this link. If you have the slightest sense of humor, you'll also enjoy them. My favorite is posted below:

Video Game Art - Video Game Remakes

2009-03-10T09:49:00.004-05:00

I was looking on Digg last week, specifically at different categories of pictures while I taking a break from doing some things around the house, and came across a link to the wallpaper shown above. The link took me to the rest of the collection by Orioto over on the Deviant Art website. I've always run across other artists and pictures that I like on Deviant Art, but this has to be one of my favorite collections by far.

This particular collection of pictures show some great depictions of classic video game characters and scenes. Head over to Orioto's page on Deviant Art to check out the rest of this collection. If you are a fan of video games, I think you'll like this collection.

Arts & Crafts Day

2009-03-02T20:09:00.010-06:00

My youngest son is sick, so while he and my wife were at the doctor's office, Elijah and I had to find things to occupy our free time. Amazingly, I was able to fire up the grill and cook hot dogs for lunch without any major mishaps. I credit the toy bus that was the first thing in view on the porch this morning, and I think that Elijah got so engrossed in the bus and his little 'peoples for the bus' that I was able to cook two hot dogs without either burning the food or my kid (just kidding on the kid part, although his desire to 'help' always brings him too close to the stove or grill, in my opinion).

At any rate, we had a great morning making our first pirate sword. My creation looks somewhat more like a knight's sword, but since he's two, I think I can get by without too much scrutiny. Of course, now that we have the sword, here come the inevitable sword fights. I realize now that he likes the thing so much, we have to be sure that hedoesn't hit his little brother with it, so it looks like a stress-free afternoon activity will only create more stress down the line. Boy, I love being a dad! :)

Great Artist Site - Johnny Yanok

2009-02-28T07:55:00.001-06:00

Head over to Johnny Yanok's website and take a look at some of his artwork. One of his paintings got my attention today, and after I headed over to his site, I was glad I stopped by. A couple of the pieces that I liked are included here, but head over to his site to view his full collection. I love the cartoonish style he uses, because it's not the overly kidsy kind of cartoonish. According to his blog, it also looks like he has done some design for Target, so if his work looks familiar, that may be where you've seen it. Enjoy the link!

Bluegrass - it's not as bad as I thought.....

2009-02-25T13:20:00.013-06:00

I've recently been listening to a lot of bluegrass tributes to everything from 80's classics to Modest Mouse. And as cheesy and nerdy as that sounds, these songs I've been listening to are pretty damn good! Even though my title pokes fun at bluegrass, I have always appreciated it for the sheer talent that I've seen in almost all bluegrass musicians. No one 'type' of musician has really imporessed me more with their mastery of their respective instruments, and while my personal tastes lean toward heavier music, I can also appreciate great musicianship when I see it no matter what the genre.

Here is one of the songs that first got me looking at this sub-genere of music, and something I'm glad I found while randomly surfing for new music to listen to. It's certainly led to hours of enjoyment so faqr, and will probably be paying me back for many days to come. Enjoy this and some of the other links I've posted!

Float On - Iron Horse: The Bluegrass Tribute To Modest Mouse

Other albums you might enjoy:

Build Your Own Pirate Ship Day

2009-02-22T21:07:00.011-06:00

Today was build your own pirate ship day - at least it was at my house this morning. My oldest son and I were building the pirate ship shown here, and had a great time! Even though he was running a bit of a fever, the project was engaging enough to keep him from zoning out on the TV and being fussy all morning. It took up about an hour of the morning, right after he got up, and I think it allowed him a little time to get in a better mood slowly. The picture above is the result of our project this morning.

Against my better judgement, I let him help paint the model, and aside from a little paint on his hands, nothing got wrecked, surprisingly. He's only 2 and a half, so I wasn't expecting Rembrandt, but he certianly didn't get any on the table or his clothes, which is usually the first place paint brushes tend to orient themselves and are drawn to when they're first placed in a toddler's hand.

Once we got finished with the painting, we put together the sails and rigging and it's currently sitting on the table in our kitchen waiting for a little touch up on the paint and then to find a permanent home. All in all, this was a very easy model to put together and paint. It came with all of the items needed to complete the model (paint & paintbrush, glue, string, etc), and it was just long enough to eat up a good chunk of time, but not so long that he lost interest. I'd recommend checking it out for a good rainy day activity or a good distraction for an otherwise suboptimal mood or lack of things to do in the house.

http://www.amazon.com/Make-Your-Own-Pirate-Ship/dp/B000P8AL6U/ref=sr_1_51?ie=UTF8&s=toys-and-games&qid=1235358227&sr=1-51

Cyberdyne Systems Model 101 Terminator - Phase 1 complete

2008-11-13T00:11:00.003-06:00

I saw an article posted on Digg today that reminds me of the Terminator movies. It was about a robot that can mimic the facial expressions of a human. It is certainly a far cry from the fictional robots in that series, but hey - that technology had to get a start somewhere, right? Click here to read the article - there is a video in the middle of the page, just in case the photos don't give you enough of a creepy vibe.

Amazon read my post!

2008-11-03T17:07:00.003-06:00

Well, I'd like to think they did anyway. The post I'm referring to was one of my first ones on this blog, and it can be found here: *^%$@#~ Toy Packaging!

Today, Wired's Gadget Lab blog has a post dealing with the infuriating packaging that most things seem to be sealed into these days. I have to applaud Amazon, both for the frustration reduction as well as the environmental impact this could have. It totally makes sense that there isn't a need for theft-deterrant packaging if you're shopping online - how do you steal something from a webpage, right? If they suceed in this endeavor, I might have to put my need for immediate gratification on hold for the promise of not having to get the Jaws of Life to open every package I receive. Life is all about compromises...

UPDATE: More on this story today (11/21/08) at Inhabitat

Maker Faire Photos

2008-11-03T17:02:00.001-06:00

I finally got around to uploading my pictures from Maker Faire! I was having too much fun to remember to take good pictures, but I got a couple of the highlights of the day. I wish we had more time to enjoy the festival, but alas, we had the Kids again, so time was limited. Hopefully next year the kiddos will be old enough to enjoy these things a little more and not need to nap as often. We'll see.... :)

Here is my Flickr page with the photos. Enjoy!

Maker Faire is coming to Austin this weekend!!!

2008-10-14T12:33:00.001-05:00

I'm so excited about this. I went ot my first Maker Faire last year when it came to Austin, and it was great! I didn't get to stay as long as I had hoped because I had my oldest son with me at the time, and he was only about a year old and fussy. Still, I saw some great booths and exhibits, some of which will be back this year (I hope).

A brief summary, from the website:

LEARN TO MAKE, CRAFT, DESIGN OR DEVELOP:
• Robots • Rockets • Bicycles • Alternative Energy Devices • Electronics • Crafts
• Circuit Boards • Sustainable Food • Musical Instruments • Wood Working
• Knitting • Eco Modding Cars • Kites • Special Effects • Sewing • and more...

Maker Faire is a two-day, family-friendly event that celebrates the Do-It-Yourself (DIY) mindset. It's for creative, resourceful people of all ages and backgrounds who like to tinker and love to make things. So much to see, you will need 2 days to see it all!

There is also an event guide that you can download here (in PDF format). I'm totally ready to go check this out!!

In all of this mortgage mess, a hero!

2008-10-09T10:40:00.004-05:00

Kudos to this guy. I know that technically, he's supposed to be doing his job (and isn't), but honestly, I think he's actually going above and beyond his duties.

I just hope that he is recognized in a positive way, and not only by a reprimand or demotion. Compassion seems to be going out the window lately, and it's guys like this that give the human race a good name again.

Kudos to you, Sherriff Dart! Please run for state or national office - I don't care if you are a Republican or a Democrat (or somewhere in between) - we need compassionate leaders in times like these, and you sir, have put your money where your mouth is.

See why I think he is a hero in this article on CNN.

We've Moved! (and a little about Maker Faire Austin)

2008-10-06T11:21:00.003-05:00

My family and I just moved this past weekend, so we're finally done with most of the packing and hauling. Now for the unpacking! :)

I haven't had much time to write updates lately, but I just realized that it's now October, the month that Maker Faire comes to Austin!!! I'll be writing about it more later this week, but check out the website here to see what it's all about.

Your nerdy link for the week..Enjoy!

2008-10-03T10:25:00.004-05:00

I saw an article on CNN this morning that I thought was pretty cool. It's actually pretty neat to see this being attempted. I don't think we've had anything close to an engineering breakthrough in quite some time, although I admit I'm not an engineering buff and could be leaving out some significant breakthroughs.

I think if this gets done, it will be on the level of the Egyptian pyramids, the Great Wall, or the Hoover Dam. I marvel at how those seem to be such daunting structures, and when you consider how long ago some of them were built, it amazes me that these things were even completed in the first place. Check out the story here.

One of the coolest LEGO models I've ever seen...

2008-09-21T14:41:00.006-05:00

There had to be some serious free time that went into this project. I can't imagine having the kind if time it would take to build something like this, much less the money for all of those LEGOs. Of course, maybe this guys doesn't have two kids under the age of two and a half. I certainly do, and just writing this post was a small, yet hard-fought, moment to myself, even if I'm only getting about five to ten minutes uninterrupted to write this post. Click here to see the site and check out some of the detail shots.

Helicopter parenting - Update

2008-09-17T12:31:00.000-05:00

Early this year, I wrote about Helicopter Parenting and marveled at the somewhat crazy stories in the article I linked to. I saw another story on Helicopter Parenting this afternoon, so it made me think of my original post on the subject. It doesn't contain the same types of outrageous stories like the original article I wrote about, but it does give some helpful tips to potentially prevent yourself from turning into a Helicopter Parent. Enjoy the link!

Behold! I have captured a baby wookie!

2008-09-09T23:13:00.005-05:00

I took a ten minute break from wrangling my 2-year old son the other day, and thought it would be good idea to brush my two dogs. They have been shedding like crazy lately, so I figured a quick brushing couldn't hurt.

After only about 7 minutes of brushing, I had the hugest pile of hair piled up on the patio, and I could have gotten lots more if I had the patience to keep holding both dogs in place for much longer. Like I said, this was a break, so I didn't exactly want to over-exert myself. After looking at the pile of hair that I swept up, it vaguely reminded me of something Jim Henson must have had dreams (or maybe nightmares) about.

Any-hoo, I took a couple of pictures with my cellphone and posted them below. Enjoy!

p.s. - as scary as it sounds, if I had brushed my cat for the same length of time, it would have produced twice as much hair as you see in the picture there. I keep waiting to brush the little guy into oblivion, but it never seems to happen. He just keeps producing more hair!

Cool Aerial Shot of Airplane Graveyard

2008-09-05T15:25:00.003-05:00

I was reading a link from one of Wired's blogs today that took me to an Airplane Graveyards website. In the article, there is a suggestion to take a look at them on Google maps, and I have to admit, the image is pretty cool (see sample pictured above). From the graveyard site:

"Want to see all the airplanes? Go to google maps and enter "Davis-Monthan Air Force Base" in the search box. Click Satellite view and move to a close-up view to see the parked airplanes. Google Maps"

Enjoy!

Cedar Rock Railroad Trip

2008-09-03T07:48:00.005-05:00

A couple of weeks ago, my wife and I took both boys to ride the Cedar Rock Railroad. The train is located in Round Rock within the Williamson County Regional Park facility. It only runs on weekends right now, but it's a great diversion for our 2 year old on Sundays, at which point, we've usually run out of ideas and activities that will keep him busy. Since this isn't too far from our house, it makes for a nice quick trip. Check out the Website here if you live in or near Austin and think about giving this miniature train a visit.

The park itself is pretty large and well-maintained, so for those who like to do lots of outdoor sports or picnic activities, this is a great place to bring the family as well. Click here for information on the park.

I'm posting some pictures of our trip below, I hope you enjoy them!

Comedy this good can't be written - it just has to happen :)

2008-08-26T08:01:00.002-05:00

I may not be the luckiest or most skillful person in the world, but no matter how bad things seem to go for me, I can always look back on this guy and instantly realize that things could certainly be worse. It's just too damn funny, especially the fact that he tried to play it off like he was 'helping'

Seriously, you can't make up comedy that good, it just has to happen.

:)

Nooo!!! Say it ain't so!! (the death of internet radio?)

2008-08-19T18:08:00.000-05:00

I was just reading a semi-disturbing article on Wired about the new royalty rates for internet webcasters. I had only partially paid attention earlier in the year when there was some buzz around the new legislation to enforce these new rates, but didn't think it would cut off the bigger players like Pandora.
While I'm not a Pandora user, I do use a similar program that gives me recommendations for new music based on what I'm listening to, and I have found some OUTSTANDING bands that I would not have heard before (presumably). I hope that this gets worked out, because I've all but given up on regular radio. Sure, it's great if you want to hear classic songs or like mostly pop music, but if you have more wide-ranging musical tastes, regular radio doesn't offer much these days, in my opinion.

Check out the Wired story here.

This is SO up my alley....

2008-08-06T13:31:00.000-05:00

The Geek Dad blog at Wired has a great article today about cruises. I've never been on a cruise, mind you, but I hope to go someday. The cruise they featured looks like a totally cool experience, if not a nerdy one (like i said, it's right up my alley).

I don't think my kids are nearly old enough to enjoy this yet, but I hope that they still have this kind of thing going on in a couple of years, because that would be the perfect time for the family to take a big, nerdy vacation together.

Great Advice for parents - be the best you can be for your child!

2008-08-05T08:45:00.001-05:00

I'm constantly reading a lot of parenting articles - some of them I agree with, some of them...not so much. I ran across an old article I had bookmarked and finally got a chance to read through it last night. It's certainly an article that strikes a chord with me, mostly because it's focus is on helping you become a positive influence to your children so that they grow up to be confident and engaged in their own lives, which hopefully means that they will lead a happier, more productive existence.

Most of these tips are pretty general, but pretty much line up with how I want to raise my kids. I feel that my parents gave me a similar upbringing, which I am forever grateful for, and I hope that I can do a good enough job to pass on some of life's lessons to my children in a way that makes them better people. Here is a link to the article, and the site itself has some other great articles covering all facets of life and advice on how to live it better.

Essential survival items for new parents (part 1)

2008-07-23T08:13:00.002-05:00

With the birth of our second son, my wife and I are re-discovering some of the items that made things easier on us. Since we're breaking out some of these things (or re-purchasing them), I thought I'd share some of the must-have items we've found. If you've recently had a baby and can't seem to hang on to your sanity, here is a list of things that helped us out the most.

Happiest Baby on the Block (DVD) - While the book is very useful, reading is the last thing on your mind when you've got a screaming kid that won't sleep or quiet down, no matter what you try. The DVD is a quick watch, and I swear some of the techniques saved our sanity on multiple occasions. While most of the techniques need some practice and minor adjustments, we're still using most of them with our second baby and things are much quieter around our house.

Miracle Blanket - One of the techniques mentioned in the Happiest Baby on the Block was swaddling. While I'm certainly not the most coordinated person on the planet, I'm also not a ham-handed buffoon that can't tie my own shoelaces. Guess what? I can't swaddle a baby worth a shit! Either that, or I only produce little Houdini-spawn who can get out of anything. This little blanket negates any skill or patience from the swaddling equation, and allows you to get your squirmy little bugger swaddled tightly. And they stay that way!

Amby Nest - My wife and I haven't even gotten the second crib out of the shipping box. Because we love our Amby Nest so much, we can't fathom putting the new baby in a crib until he outgrows it. I also like the fact that the footprint of the Amby Nest doesn't take up much more space than a bassinet, so we're able to keep the baby next to our bed, which is wonderful for my wife when it comes time for the 3am feedings.

Rock-a-Bye Baby CDs - When I say that these CDs saved my sanity, it's a huge understatement. With my first son, we had a routine of putting him to bed with soft music playing in the background while we rocked him to sleep. Having been a child-care worker for a few years, my wife swore by the Kenny Loggins CD Return to Pooh Corner. While I am tolerant of almost any kind of music, this CD drove me to the brink in about two weeks time 9I'm really surprised that I made it that long). I got the Pink Floyd version of this series of CDs, and putting my son to bed no longer made me break down in tears at the sheer madness of it all! If you're having a similar experience with any of your sleepy-time CDs, I highly suggest picking up one of these.

Iris Root - If you have a teething child, get one of these. By no means is this a miracle product that takes away all of their pain, but if your child is as fussy of a teether as my first son was, you'll need all the help you can get.

That's all for now. As I remember or think of new things, I'll be posting those things in part 2.

Great 'crop-circle' art

2008-07-14T08:09:00.004-05:00

I ran across some great agricultural art done in Japan (I think) that reminds me of the crop circles you see on various websites and books on extra-terrestrial visitors. Check out the link below for all of the pictures.

Check out the other photos here!

Sorry - I can't help with the page translation, but man, those images sure look cool :)

It's a boy!

2008-07-04T11:12:00.002-05:00

My wife and I welcomed our second son into the world on July 1st, 2008. His name is Samuel Marcus, and both baby and mom are doing wonderful!

Showbiz Pizza gets Hip!

2008-06-30T12:40:00.001-05:00

One of my good friends from high school sent me a link via Myspace. Not knowing what to expect, I took a quick look and found the video below. This was just way too good not to share.

Thanks for the link, Chris!

Unusual Hotels of the World

2008-06-28T20:19:00.005-05:00

I found a neat website that shows some of the more unusual hotels of the world. I've only stayed at one of these (the Boulders in Arizona), but I'd love to stay in even a fraction of these before I die. Check out the site to see some of the cool places you can stay around the globe.

There is actually one place close to Austin that my wife and I stayed in before we got married: The Sunrise Exotic Animal Ranch, which I think should be included on the list. They have a few rooms available at their Bed & Breakfast, but the Treehouse is definitely the crown jewel.

My wife and I got there after dark, so we had no idea that we were right amidst the animal habitats - at least until we were sitting on the porch after settling in and started hearing all of the strange noises around us! To top it off, the next morning when we woke up and went onto the porch, we were eye-level with a giraffe that was only about 20 yards away! If you're ever in the area, the ranch is just outside of Austin, near Dripping Springs.

The Second Amendment

2008-06-26T12:28:00.000-05:00

Today, the Supreme Court marked what some call a landmark case for the second amendment. While I really don't have an opinion either way on this particular issue (I'm not against guns, but my personal convictions would not allow me to have one, at least not while I have young children in the house), I do have an opinion about a shirt that I saw about a year back, and this news story made me think of that shirt.

My opinion on the shirt? It's damn funny!

See a pic of the shirt below (the picture links to the site where you can buy one, too):

Absolutely Stunning...

2008-06-25T22:29:00.003-05:00

I was browsing the web this evening and came across an awesome image of a galaxy called the Sombrero Galaxy on the Hubble website. While the picture itself is pretty neat, the detail you can see in the background of the highest quality image.

If you download the full-size image (approx 7 MB) and look in the darker areas around the edges, you can see small galaxies in the background of the image. It's crazy to see how many other galaxies are in the background of this one shot. Check out the high-resolution version to see what I mean.

Awesome Flickr Photo Set - Treehouses

2008-06-24T23:07:00.002-05:00

Head over to this Flickr photo set to see some cool pictures of tree houses around the world. I'm planning on building one for my son when he gets older, but probably nothing as fancy as some of the ones shown in this photo set.

We grow our criminals EXTRA smart here in Texas....

2008-06-24T08:28:00.000-05:00

I saw this news story this morning, just had to share because it is too funny:

http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/06/24/inmate.dropsin.ap/index.html

I'm a little skeptical (and fascinated)...

2008-06-24T07:39:00.003-05:00

I ran across a science article yesterday that I found interesting. It's about the hadron collider that was built at the CERN laboratories, near the Swiss/French border. Apparently, there's some scientific debate about the consequences of smashing atoms in this large particle accelerator.

On one side, there are some that claim that these experiments will "unlock the secrets of the universe," while others fear Earth's total destruction. Read the article for more interesting details, but I'm always a little skeptical of the typical 'gloom & doom' scenarios. Still, it is interesting (and a little scary) that both sides of this debate have been manned by established scientists, so it is a little fascinating to see the range of opinions that this new particle accelerator is creating.

I'm less worried about the most pessemistic theries coming to pass since there is already another particle accelerator that has been operational in New York since 2000, but it still does conjure up fascinating images of our potential fate. The collider is due to start up this summer, so get ready! :)

When Failure can be a 'pick me up'

2008-06-22T12:04:00.004-05:00

"When would that apply," you might ask? When it happens to someone else, of course. If you need to feel better about yourself, head over to The Fail Blog for some great humor.

Caution - some entries may not be 'safe for work.' (but hey, they are still funny)

Ninjas are cool...

2008-06-22T12:01:00.000-05:00

I found a funny picture that I had to share. Click the link below to see Ninjas on Ice!

Lego Video Game Scenes

2008-06-21T08:46:00.002-05:00

I found a great set of Flickr pictures that show classic video game scenes re-created with Legos. Taking a look at these reminded me of how much fun I used to have with Legos (and how much fun I still have with video games). I think the only thing geekier than that would be re-creating Dungeons & Dragons scenes with LEgos. Hmmm...where did I store my Legos at? :)

See all of the pictures here.

Happy Father's Day to all Dads....

2008-06-15T23:22:00.003-05:00

My father's day was great today! I had a wonderful breakfast at someone else's house (thanks grandparents!), got a few things done around the house (but not too much), and played a few games of Mario Kart for Wii, my excellent Father's day gift. I hope the other dads out there had as good of a day or better!

Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, B, A, START

2008-06-11T13:57:00.003-05:00

An article today on GeekDad at Wired got me thinking:

Why is it that I can remember the damn Konami code from when I was, like, 10 years old, but I can't remember to give the damn cat his medicine every morning???? Surely it should be routine now, certainly more routine than punching in that code at the beginning of Contra on my old NES. Damn I hate getting old.

Young Scientists, Rejoice!

2008-06-10T12:14:00.002-05:00

I recently stumbled across a great online store for science geeks! Edmund Scientific is an online catalog of all kinds of science experiment equipment, models, robotics kits...almost any kind of geeky scientific toy/project you can think of, really.

I can already tell that my son is very much into music, hopefully because we bought him lots of toys and activities related to music. I'm hoping that once he gets older, I'll be able to foster his interest in science by getting him some of these things and doing activities together with him on the weekends.

I'll hold off on introducing him to Dungeons and Dragons until he's into high school. I don't want to jump the gun on too many geeky activities all at once, which could possibly force him into the 'no girls will talk to me becasue I'm weird' category. Parenting makes you walk such a fine line, I guess... :)

Another train near Austin!

2008-06-03T16:28:00.002-05:00

I was looking for fun outdoor activities around the Austin area and came across a miniature train I didn't know existed. It is located in Round Rock (just north of Austin), and it looks like fun. It's called the Cedar Rock Railroad, and it's just 2.50 per person for the ride (infants under 1 are free!).

It's open year round on weekends, and I think I may try to take my son to ride it sometime in the near future. I'm not sure how it compares to the Zilker train, but I'll post more if we get a chance to go soon. I do like the Zilker train, but since I live in north Austin, this one may be easier to get to.

I'm totally doing this to my lawnmower...

2008-05-15T11:50:00.002-05:00

Check out Geek Dad at Wired for the latest in lawnmower ingenuity. As a self-professed lazy man, this is right up my alley! Now if I can just figure out how the guy rigged this up, I'll be well on my way to an effort-free summer tending my lawn. On the other hand, I'm not the most 'fix-it' inclined person I know, so it may be the end of the summer before I'm able to figure it out. Oh well, it's nice to dream :)

Follow this link to see it in action.

Of course, if I were a rich man, I'd totally get one of these:

Creepiest. Show. Ever....

2008-04-22T07:59:00.002-05:00

I have recently become hooked on a show airing on the Discovery Channel called A Haunting. I originally only caught a few episodes at the very beginning or in the middle, since it aired around my typical lunch hour, so I started recording the episodes on my DVR to have something to watch in the evenings after the boy goes to sleep.

Now that I'm watching the full episodes, I'm hooked. I know that there are a lot of made up theatrics that comprise these shows, but I do find it more interesting than those other ghost shows that have the night vision cameras (Ghost Hunters is one, I think). Although I'm not a complete believer in all of the show's assertions, it's pretty damn creepy regardless. I have seen some episodes for sale on the Discovery store and at Timeless Media.

You should try to catch it if you have not seen it. It airs on most weekdays at 1 pm CST on Discovery HD.

Ahhh... Relaxation

2008-04-14T13:26:00.002-05:00

My wife and I are taking a much needed vacation before the new baby gets here in July, and I'm loving it. Even though I got up at 6:00 AM this morning, I still feel more rested than i normally do when waking up at 8:00 with the boy. Admittedly, we changed time zones on this trip, but 6:00 here is the same as 8:00 back home.

I think the fact that we have absolutely nothing planned for today, other than a massage at around 1:00, is what is refreshing me. And the fact that I wasn't being asked to turn on the TV to catch up on the latest goings-on of Dora or the Wiggles. I actually watched the NEWS this morning. And nobody was grabbing the remote out of my hand and looking pleadingly at me for a channel change to something in the channel range of Noggin and the Disney channel.

While I do miss the boy, I'm liking the fact that my wife and I get a couple of days of 'adult time' - adult time not being a strictly sexual connotation (although we're getting some of that in too ;), but rather one of being able to lounge around after getting up in the morning and read, watch TV and then mosey down to a restaurant to get breakfast. And not having to chase a screaming banshee through the restaurant once the aforementioned banshee gets bored with his food (which is usually about five minutes into any meal).

Right now, it's not even noon, and I'm realizing how bad my wife and I are at doing nothing. She's already gone to sleep, and I'm already on the computer, but boy is it NICE! I'll take bored over frazzled for a couple of days. And heck, if I get bored, I'll just go drink myself into a nap by the pool. Problems I can live with, indeed.

This parent gets mad props!

2008-04-11T11:03:00.002-05:00

"Why," you might ask? Just click this link and bask in all the geeky, nerd-a-licious glory. Apparently, I'm not quite the geeky dad that I had thought myself.

This parent definitely takes the cake, although I'm not above copying this idea and asking my wife to sew one of these up for our upcoming baby. :)

The curse of parenting

2008-04-07T17:05:00.002-05:00

I have almost always maintained that fatherhood is nothing short of a blessing since my son was born, but I do have to revise my outlook slightly. While becoming a dad has been the single-most uplifting and meaningful event in my life to date, there is one unforeseen downside to the whole gig - caring so much about something that it can literally make you sick thinking about it.
The specific thing that set me off was an episode of Cold Case that aired recently, and it dealt with women that had been abducted by this typical loner/nobody/invisible-to-society psycho. One of the women had recently had a daughter before being abducted (and died), and at the end of the show, they show her husband and daughter (about 2-3 years old I'd guess) watching the videos of her and the newborn baby.
I normally don't 'tear up' about anything - it's one of my (misguided) points of pride over my self-control, but I found myself about to bawl when watching this scene. Just seeing the little girl watching the video and realizing that the lady on it was 'her mommy,' and that this was the only connection she'd have to one of her parents... it hit me hard.
It sent all sorts of thoughts through my head, like what if something happens to my son, how could i handle that? Or god forbid if something happened to my wife or myself, and all he has to remember us by are videos from times he can't even recall? Thoughts like this are the kind that make my stomach drop about 10,000 feet as soon as they enter my brain. While I'm thankful that I have that much love for my son and my family, it does scare the bah-jeezus out of me, so I'm having to consciously not think about that stuff and make my day one big stomach-ache. I hate that show.

Update to last post (Ack! part 2)

2008-04-03T09:57:00.004-05:00

Wired's Listening Post had a funny picture up related to my last post and I wanted to share it. The picture really says it all - it really breaks it down for you:

Word.

Ack!, Part 2

2008-04-01T17:40:00.004-05:00

I just got 'Rick-Rolled' at least four times today. Why am I so stupid???? You'd think that a) this being April Fool's day, and b) the dirty trick happening three times prior, would have turned me off from clicking any video links today.

If you have not been 'Rick-Rolled', or do not know what it is, click here for a good time. (don't say i didn't warn you, though).

now the damn thing is stuck in my head, and i think it's even worse than the Henry the Octopus song from my previous post. Why?????!!!!!??????

Ack! Please make it go away......

2008-03-31T14:36:00.003-05:00

For some unknown reason, I have a Wiggles song stuck in my head today and it won't go away. I was getting coffee in the office this morning and found myself whistling the tune of "Henry the Octopus." I didn't see anyone standing near me once I realized what i was doing, but now I'm wondering if anyone heard me? The coffee machine is right next to a corner in a fairly trafficked area of the office. The horror...The horror!

I got five thous-and doll-ars, I got five thous-and doll-ars!

2008-03-30T09:51:00.004-05:00

Not really. I wish I did, but I got the next best thing for my nerdy self anyway. A 50% off coupon for the local half-price books store. I'm so going there today, but since I'm on baby duty while the wife is having a spa day today for her birthday, I hope my son behaves better than he did last time we went there. I didn't even make it to the Sci-Fi/Fantasy section before he lost it.

The last trip went something like this: I walked in the store, briefly browsed the sale rack up front for about two minutes, and promptly walked out with a screaming banshee over my shoulder a few seconds later. I'm hoping for a better result today since he's a few months older and can walk around himself. Not that he'll be good, mind you, but I'm hoping that if he gets bored in the stroller, he can get out and walk around the section I'm browsing, or at least hang in the kids section, where I can watch him a little better.

Wish me luck!

We start 'em early in the live music capital of the world...

2008-03-27T12:45:00.000-05:00

My wife just took my son for a free preview of an infant through young childhood music program. It encourages all ages attending to explore music in their own way, whether it through playing with instruments or having their parents clap their hands/feet or bounce them to the beat (for those who aren't mobile yet).

The class is called Heart Song Music, and apparently, my son LOVES it. My wife said she had never seen him so animated before, even at Gymboree, so I think we're going to start sending him. I'm hoping that he'll be come a famous rockstar or songwriter and be able to support his parents when we reach old age :)

Is Chuck E. Cheese putting something in their pizza?

2008-03-21T13:32:00.005-05:00

As I read yet another story about a disturbance at Chuck E. Cheese, it struck me that there seem to have been lots of incidents at that particular restaurant lately. I have frequented this place with my kid before (admittedly only once), and never saw anything quite like the stories linked below.

I'm convinced that they are putting something in the pizza that drives adults wild. How else could you explain all of these recent incidents? Maybe the restaurant attracts a greater proportion of crazy people. Or maybe the only people that would take their kids to one of these after reading all of these links are crazy by definition. Who knows? All I know if that nothing that exciting has ever happened when I've been to that place, but maybe I'll have a front row seat to a good tasering one day.

Here are some examples of what you're missing out on if you've never been:

Taser Incident - nothing goes with salad like a few thousand volts. Gives it that extra kick!

Spitting Incident - now this one is just scary.

Attempted Kidnapping - again, just scary.

Big Brawl - Ahh. There we go - a good, old fashioned, 80-person brawl.

Another Brawl - Girl fight!!!

An Update on the Big Brawl location (above) - Wow. Maybe I'm going to the wrong Chuck E. Cheese. Favorite quote from the article: "Flint Township police say they were called 30 separate times to Chuck E. Cheese last year. The cases range from assault to disorderly conduct to even one case of criminal sexual conduct." Sounds like good family fun! :)

Another great location - Apparently, just like Flint Township, Milwaukee knows how to throw a proper pizza party too :)

Abandoned! - Seriously - this one actually breaks my heart, especially when I see that cute little face. :(

Wait! Me Too! - not to be outdone by Flint Township and Milwaukee, Gulfport gets in on the action too!

Wild, wild west - this is also another scary one involving a shooting.

Learn about model rockets from NASA!

2008-03-21T07:35:00.003-05:00

I'm thinking about trying out model rockets when my son is a couple of years older. I remember building and launching one during a summer science program at a university near my hometown. It was definitely a fun experience that I'd like to try, and I remember there being a pretty cool science lesson involved during the project as well.

I think things like this are a great way to impart a love or interest in science - they are a valuable teaching tool because they can offer a hands-on, real world approach to learning, and even if your young one doesn't learn anything, launching the rocket is pretty darn cool.

I must confess that i probably don't remember much science from that particular project, but one of my more vivid memories of the university event was launching the rocket. for that alone, it was well worth it.

Head over to NASA's site on rockets to learn more about the science behind model rockets.

Do fun projects with your kids

2008-03-20T17:21:00.003-05:00

Head over to Kids Make Stuff to find some neat articles covering projects that you can do with your kids. I'm a big advocate of doing things that are both educational and fun, and this site has several science and craft 'type' projects that you can easily do with your kids. One think I like about the site is that it gives guidelines for age ranges and time required to create the experiment or activity. Head over and check it out for some great ideas.

Painting

2008-03-19T08:27:00.002-05:00

I have spent the past few days and cleaning out our office to make room for our new baby. We'll be moving my 1 year old to the former office while the new baby will get his room. Of course, true to fashion, we chose a very dark color (navy) to go over the previous white paint, so I'm having to paint several coats to get tings even looking. Other than the paint, I also wanted something to make his room a little nicer, so my wife and I bought a wallpaper border to run around the middle of the wall where the color changes from navy to light blue.

I'm not sure if the border will be enough for my (admittedly little) artistic sensibilities. Since the boy currently has a mural in his room now, I would like something similar in his room now, but don't have the money to pay someone to do it (even if I do have some artistic sensibilities, I have no artistic talent).

However, I was surfing over at Wired's Geek Dad blog and saw these cool wall decals. We can add to the jungle theme on the wallpaper border without having to paint a full mural! Yay!

Science!

2008-03-14T16:05:00.003-05:00

I found a great article today that reminded me about how fun some of the science projects I did as a child were. I used to love making a 'homemade volcano' out of baking soda and vinegar. The article I found today gives tips on how to encourage your children's interest in Science. My little one is too young for me to do any science projects just yet, but I have yet to find a kid that didn't think the volcano project was cool the first time they saw it.

Fun for your inventor-in-the-making

2008-03-10T07:30:00.003-05:00

My wife will be taking my son to an event at Austin Children's Museum today. They are attending the Baby Bloomers program, which is only for kids 3 and under. It sounds like a neat place based on what she's told me, and as I was on their site earlier today, it looks like they have a cool event for older children as well.

It's called the Tinkerer's Workshop, and it's basically a scaled-down engineering style event that allows kids to build things out of provided materials. From their site:

Designed for children ages 5-11, activities in the Tinkerer's Workshop build creative problem solving and critical thinking skills through project-based learning and the engineering design process.

Go check it out!

More info on admission, hours, etc:

Hours
Tuesday - Saturday 10 am to 5 pm
Wednesday Nights - 5pm to 8pm, admission by donation
Sunday - Noon to 5pm, (4pm - 5pm FREE)

Admissions
Adults: $5.50
Children 2 yrs. old & older: $5.50
12-23 months: $3.50 | under 12 months FREE

Great site for dads

2008-03-03T08:36:00.004-06:00

I was surfing over the weekend and saw a great site that I found several good articles on (as well as a funny SNL skit with Kevin Federline's parenting tips): Daddy Rock Star

Head over if you have time and check it out. I really liked the article about raising spoiled brats, because that has been an area where I'm nervous about my child-rearing abilities. I like for my son to have things that are nice or things that he wants, but I'm not too sure where to draw the line between enriching his life and spoiling him rotten and giving him everything he wants.

My son needs one of these. Heck - I need one of these!

2008-02-28T10:48:00.003-06:00

I was surfing over to Geek Dad at Wired and saw the coolest project that someone had posted. Wow. Being a "book nerd," this project really appeals to me. Not that I'm handy enough to actually put something like this together, but I'm glad to see that there is still some imagination left in the world.

Click here for a link to the GeekDad story.

Things like this make me happy that I have a kid. It's like having a second childhood, getting to see cool things like this. Before I had my son, I probably would have skipped over this link, but now, I'm fantasizing about building something similar for him. It's only fantasizing, though. I don't want to destroy a perfectly good bedroom with my feeble attempts to be handy. :)

Great bedtime music

2008-02-25T07:15:00.002-06:00

I'm not known for my musical tolerance. I like what I like, which is often more on the rock/heavy side of the musical spectrum. As you can imagine, I have trouble with the typical bedtime CDs that I sometimes use to put my son to sleep. I think that if i hear the Kenny Loggins CD, Return to Pooh corner, one more time, I might lose it.

It's a great CD in the sense that it's pretty even volume throughout, and does have nice, soft, and (arguably) relaxing melodies that help get him to sleep. But what about me? I'm a ball of nerves after 3-4 songs, so it's having the opposite effect on me. Enter the perfect 'baby' gift for new parents: Rockabye Baby CDs!

Someone has taken popular rock bands and recorded their songs using some sort of xylophone/vibraphone thingy, and released tons of great CDs that can be used to lull the little ones to sleep at bedtime, with the added benefit of not driving me crazy! :)

Check out the site here to see all of the cool CDs that they've made. There are even some audio samples of some of their more popular CDs on the front page, to give you an idea of what they sound like (it may sound like kind of a weird concept, but believe me, they are pretty cool).

Almost everything you wanted to know about tonight's lunar eclipse

2008-02-20T07:29:00.005-06:00

I'm excited about tonight's lunar eclipse, although I hope it's not going to be too cloudy in Austin to see things clearly. I have seen a couple of good links from both NASA and Space.com that highlight tonight's eclipse. I'm tempted to go buy a telescope just for this, but with my luck, it will be cloudy and I won't get to use it, so I'll hold off.

Here are the links:

Space.com's Lunar Eclipse Viewer's guide

NASA's Eclipse Page

Getting ready for a new baby

2008-02-19T07:39:00.004-06:00

It's been a while since I posted, and I figured I'd better get back in the habit before I put it down for good. I made a 'sort of' resolution to start and keep up with a blog, and although I haven't always posted as often as I like, I'm not going to let it discourage me from keeping it going, even if my posting is more sporadic than I had hoped.

The past week, I've been giving a lot of thought to all the work/shopping I need to do to get ready for our new baby in July. We're going to have to combine our office and guest room to make room for another nursery for the new baby, and because the rooms are so small at my house, it's going to be a feat of engineering to get all of the stuff crammed into one room. I've still got to find a futon and mattress (not enough room for the office stuff with a full bed), consolidate both my computer and my wife's computer to one desk (probably hers, since mine is busted), get everything in my huge desk cleaned out/thrown away, selling our old bed, moving the new futon into the room, painting the office... whew! I'm making myself tired just thinking about it.

Geek out on these image collections!

2008-02-07T16:49:00.001-06:00

Both of these were found on Geek Dad at Wired.

Both of these links are great! The Stan Lee tribute has some amazing artwork based on comic book characters. The Daily Lego link is a collection of Star Wars themed lego creations. Both are definitely worth a look!

Shortwave Radio

2008-02-06T10:45:00.000-06:00

Here's a nerdy hobby that I never got into, but probably would have liked: Shortwave Radio. While I'm not too keen on listening to the regular radio these days, the thought of hearing a broadcast that is happening from the other side of the earth (and is not being broadcast via the internet) is pretty neat. The fact that this technology has been around for years is even more intriguing for me. I may have to look at how much these things cost and pick one up. It's never too late to pick up a new hobby!

found via Geek Dad

Dad and daughter website

2008-02-05T20:27:00.001-06:00

Most of the links I've found have to do with raising boys, but I did find a website dedicated to fathers with daughters. I guess I've been a little focused on the boy angle, since that's my experience as a parent so far (and we also just found out today that the little one on the way is a boy), so this is a link for you dads out there with daughters.

I'll bet there is a proud parent out there...

2008-01-31T16:09:00.000-06:00

I just saw this article on DIY Life and, wow. Just 16 years old, and look at what he did. Watch out big auto makers! This 16 year old is going to pass you up in the research & development department.

Rube Goldberg - Web 2.0 style!

2008-01-30T17:19:00.000-06:00

This is just way too cool not to share. Takes a while to load, but well worth it. Found on Fark.com

Activities for toddlers

2008-01-29T10:18:00.000-06:00

I'm not the most terribly creative father when it comes to finding activities for my toddler. Most of it is due to the fact that my wife worked in a daycare for toddler-age children, and through that, automatically knows what to do with kids that age. Me being the proud man that I am, I never think to ask her for ideas, but I often find that I'm at a loss for what to do with my son when we're spending 'daddy time' together while mom is catching up on sleep or running errands that have been piling up for weeks.
I think most of my lack of creativity is because I don't really understand what level of development toddlers are at during any given age, so I tend to do whatever seems to keep my son interested (which is mostly TV). I think things will be easier once his vocabulary develops a little more and he can actually ask to do certain things, but until then, I'm going to be at somewhat of a loss. I have resolved to try and come up with better activities to do when I'm spending time with my son, and found a great site that lists some age-appropriate activities that are both fun and also help with a toddler's development. The list can be found here, and offers up some surprisingly easy to organize activities that should give lots of ideas to keep in your back pocket for those days when you can't find something to keep your toddlers engaged and busy.

Wookiepedia? Hvaauwuuaoawaaoaa!!!

2008-01-28T15:32:00.001-06:00

I found a funny link while surfing for nerdy Star Wars sites: Wookiepedia.

For those of you who don't read wookie, check out the Star Wars Wiki.

Neat science experiment videos

2008-01-28T11:35:00.001-06:00

A little more ambitious than I would try, but the videos are cool enough to watch, and just the type of thing to spark a young child's interest in chemistry. Check the videos out here.

Can't afford that trip to Rome?

2008-01-28T09:21:00.000-06:00

Or Niagra Falls, Sydney and Yokohama? Check out some of these places in 360 degree panoramic pictures. Maybe not as cool as being there, but it sure beats a regular photo.

Cardboard boxes - still the best toy for a young one!

2008-01-24T11:33:00.000-06:00

I ran into this link while reading GeekDad this morning. It reminds me of my childhood and how many toys I left in the toybox if I had a few boxes or unused couch cushions to make a house out of. Now I'm looking around at all the toys my son has and wonder if I should give them to needy families and get him some nice boxes to replace them. I know that sounds pretty weak and busted, but I'm not sure he'd really mind.

UPDATE:
Head on over to Mr. McGroovy's to check out their cardboard box kits and plans. Also check out their Photo Gallery with examples of some of the projects people have put together. Pretty neat stuff - my favorites are the Pirate Ship and Mystery Machine from Scooby Doo! I may have to work something like this up for my son's next birthday party.

Fatherhood's unexpected effects

2008-01-17T10:43:00.001-06:00

Is it just me, or does anyone else who is a new dad occasionally feel like they are a kid again? I haven't looked at action figures or Legos or other toys and youthful activities like camping, rocketry, astronomy, etc. quite like I have in the past year.

Most of it is due to the excitement I'm feeling about introducing these things to my son when he's old enough to enjoy them. But another part of it is that these things are still pretty damn cool to look at and think about, even at my age. I hope that I'm not projecting my interests on my son, but since he's only one year old, I don't need to worry about being too overbearing about it just yet. And I think I will do fine respecting his feelings if he's not interested in some of the things that I was interested in as a child.

Knowing my luck, however, he'll only be interested in the one thing that I never got into - Sports. God help me if he gets into that, because I don't know much about them other than having watched a few Dallas Cowboy's games on TV. I suppose it would be fun to learn the finer points of sports together, though.

I'm starting to get the itch...

2008-01-15T18:55:00.000-06:00

The new year has rolled around, and although it's gotten colder (but not really cold here, since I live in Central TX), I'm anxious to get outdoors enjoy being away from my computer, TV, etc. I'm a big fan of camping, and while my son is still too young to appreciate it, I'm looking forward to taking him in the next couple of years.

I ran across this site today while surfing, and it looks like a nice resource guide. Mind you, I probably don't need it, because I'm an Eagle Scout (Can you just hear me patting myself on the back? :), but for the uninitiated, there are some good tips to consider before embarking on a camping trip and great resources for finding places to go. OK, so I can definitely use the resources pages. As long as I've lived in Austin, I seem to go back to the same places to camp, but a new campsite would be a lot of fun to try out this year.

If you've never been camping, I highly recommend it, especially if you have children. Some of my fondest memories are of camping trips with my parents, uncles, cousins, etc. I'm also glad that I was involved in Boy Scouts, because that got me plenty of opportunities for doing outdoor activities. Mmm - I can almost taste the S'Mores now.....

More Custom Toys! (of the Lego variety)

2008-01-14T12:36:00.000-06:00

Today must be the day for stumbling onto custom toy galleries. Geek Dad at Wired has a link to custom Lego figures that represent many of the Marvel and DC superheroes.

Check out the link here.

Steampunk Star Wars (and more!)

2008-01-14T11:24:00.000-06:00

I found an awesome link while surfing over to the Geek Parenting website this morning. I wish that they made toys this cool when I was young! Not that I didn't appreciate the stock figures that you could buy at the store, but i was always in awe of those kids that had the rare or super-expensive items that you didn't see every day. This would have totally blown them away.

Click over to Sillof's Workshop to view his other custom figures and dioramas. I think a Sci-Fi or Fantasy-themed diorama is a nice idea that I might try with my son, assuming he's into those genres. Of course, I'd be happy to do any kind of diorama, but if he gets into Sports, I'm in trouble, because I've never really watched or followed them all that much (unless he's a Dallas Cowboys fan).

I'm back!

2008-01-11T14:03:00.000-06:00

It's been a few days, but I'm back to blogging. A round of colds at my house (wife, son and myself) as well as a week long training at work have kept me a little busier than normal, but I've finally gotten a little breathing room!

Here is my geeky link for the day. Why don't they make Lego sets like this? I'd totally buy them (and not for my son, either!).

DadCanDo.com - Great website for fathers/parents

2008-01-04T08:41:00.000-06:00

I recently found this site while doing my normal morning surfing while my son was busy throwing/ eating his breakfast in his high chair. I love a lot of the articles on the site, especially the ones having to do with crafting toys and experiments.

These are exactly the types of creative things that I'd eventually like to do with my son, so I'm keeping this site bookmarked for future use. There are great articles on lots of great topics, and while the website is semi-focused on providing ideas and support to single dads, I have seen tons of things that are useful for any parent who is looking for a fun activity to do with their kids. Go check the site out and drop the author a note if you like it!

Wow! Astro-Photography

2008-01-03T08:53:00.000-06:00

I ran across this link today while doing some morning surfing, and this looks really cool! After reading the how-to section, it looks a little difficult, and my son is way too young to appreciate doing a project like this, but I'm going to keep this one in my back pocket and give it a shot when he gets a little older.

I'm certainly not an astronomy buff by any means, but I do remember that my dad had a telescope when I was young, and we used to look at the moon, Mars, and Saturn. I still remember the sense of wonder I felt when looking at craters on the moon or seeing the rings of Saturn in real life vs. seeing them in a book or magazine. This project definitely takes stargazing a large step forward, and I'm excited to try this out one day with my son.

Thanks to the Geek Dad Blog at Wired Magazine for the find!

Please shoot me if I become a 'Helicopter Parent'

2008-01-02T08:38:00.000-06:00

Wow. I just learned a term today that I wasn't aware existed: Helicopter Parenting. And after reading the article linked below, I feel dismayed. I feel sorry for these 'victims' of helicopter parenting.

OK, Helicopter Parents - It's one thing to care about your child's future and their pursuits of success and happiness, but come on - let them do it them damn selves! They will appreciate it more and will gain something valuable that you've so far deprived them from(or tried to, at least) - life experience!

I remember being fairly 'pushed along' by my parents, and hated it at the time, but I now realize that their constant pushing to make me a better person has done just exactly that. My parents may have even done it more than other parents when I was young and in their care, but by no means did they hold a candle to some of the activities mentioned in the article. And they certainly let me make my own choices and experience my own failures/successes after I moved out and went to college, something I'm very thankful for. They gave me the tools to succeed, it only seemed natural to use them :)

The really sad part of it for me is that this still seems to be going on (for some) well into their college years and beyond - I think it is appropriate to mentor and instruct your children on doing what it takes to achieve a goal or be successful at something, but this is far beyond the call of parental duty, in my opinion. Link to story

Go to this article, and you can see the top ten signs of being a 'Helicopter Parent' - to me, this looks more like a top ten list of "why your lazy-@ss kid needs a kick to the seat of his/her pants," but maybe I'm a little harsh in my opinion. Thoughts?

The Zilker Zephyr

2008-01-01T21:51:00.000-06:00

Today my wife and I took the boy to Zilker Park to ride the Zilker Zephyr, the small train they have at the park. It looked like the train was full when we got there and were dismayed, thinking that we'd have to wait another hour to catch the next one. However, a nice family moved around when my wife asked if there was any way to make space, and we got on a few minutes before it left. My son had a bit of a cold earlier this weekend, so he was still a little out if it - I hoped he wouldn't freak out in the middle of the trip and start fussing, but he did great and had a lot of fun by the end of the ride.

I had always heard about the train and Barton springs, but had not been there since I was very young, and really don't remember that visit. The train ride was fairly inexpensive (less then 3 bucks per adult and less than 2 per kid, with infants under 1 year ride free), and the scenery was beautiful. I didn't realize that this part of the Downtown/S. Austin area was that hilly, and the train offered up some very nice panoramic views of Barton Springs. Today was wonderful weather for a ride, although it did get a little chilly when the train was near the water, so the jackets we brought didn't go to waste.

I would recommend checking the train out if you're ever in the area. It's a nice way to keep the little one(s) occupied for 20-30 minutes while getting to take in some nice scenery while you're sitting down (something that doesn't happen too often if you have kids, I'm finding out).

Here is a link to info about the Zilker Zephyr: http://austin.about.com/cs/tours/l/blvt_z_zephyr.htm

*^%$@#~ Toy Packaging!

2007-12-29T08:43:00.000-06:00

It's barely 8 AM and I've already experienced my fill of frustration for the day. Things started out great, but my son's new toy caught his eye this morning, and unfortunately, it was so new that it was still in the packaging.

Still feeling a little tired, I decided that a new toy would provide enough of a distraction for me to start making a pot of coffee and maybe get in a few minutes of quiet time on the couch. Boy was I wrong.

After about 15 minutes of twisting, tearing, and I'm sad to admit, a little swearing (I'm definitely not a morning person), I finally had the toy free from the packaging and in front of him. He was so happy and engaged by the new toy. For about three minutes. Nice.

I'm not exactly sure why, but almost any toy I've unwrapped the past few years has been a similar experience in swear-inducing frustration. The way these things are sealed, wrapped, double-tied and blister-packed, you would think that these toys were a flight risk. What was so special about that one tiny piece of plastic, the one that was neither integral to the toy itself, nor particularly exciting without it, to warrant it's own plastic-covered wire tie - was someone going to steal this one little piece of the toy after deciding that the rest of the parts were not worth the effort?

Utterly ridiculous, and now my son is playing with my cell phone, which has kept him busy for almost 20 minutes. At this point, I can't be anything other than amused. Like I said - I've had my fill of frustration for the day ;)

Father-Son Activities

2007-12-27T17:32:00.000-06:00

I like to keep track of different suggestions for fun/interesting father-son activities and bookmark them for future use. I'm planning on updating this blog when I find new links, so here is one I saw while browsing around a couple of weeks ago. I don't see myself doing all of these activities, but I think it is a good list regardless because it includes simple activities that don't cost a lot of money, but are still fun for (hopefully) both father and son.

Top 10: Father-Son Activities

The Secret to Raising Smart Kids?

2007-12-27T15:50:00.000-06:00

I found the following article the other day, and thought it was interesting. I'm not sure about the details of the study, or any others done in the past on this same subject, but after reading the article, it does seem to make sense.

In my personal experience, I often get discouraged when I'm not the best at something. I know it can be a silly way to judge your efforts, and may mean I'm a bit of a perfectionist, but I feel that my outlook about success may hinder me more than help me in a lot of cases.

I could see, however, that if I focused on the amount of effort put into a project and the capacity for learning and improving as you progress would lead me to a healthier attitude about trying new or unknown things. Especially things like starting a business, which I want to do, but seem to get discouraged because I don't have that 'one great idea'.

While I don't want to be one of those over-the-edge parents who is constantly pushing their kids to overachieve, I do believe in fostering their desire to learn, and desire to be successful and happy. I think this article will be a good framework for me as my son grows up and begins to learn and experience life, and I hope that he becomes someone who doesn't get easily discouraged just because something is hard or unfamiliar.

Give the article a read and let me know what you think.

Link to Scientific American Article

T.V.

2007-12-27T07:18:00.000-06:00

As I sit here drinking my morning tea, trying to wake up, my son is watching T.V. I remember when he was first born, I thought that we would not let him watch TV too much. Then we started letting him watch Baby Einstein videos for a few minutes at a time, which turned into watching whichever 30 minute kids show that was on, but now it's turned into more of a 30-60 minute block of time in front of the TV, especially in the mornings when I'm trying to wake myself up and also get our dogs fed.

I feel bad that he's watching so much TV at this young of an age, but it also keeps him quiet and occupied like nothing else will. Being such a TV junkie myself, I should have expected this, but I do feel a little bad that TV is already a big part of his life this early on. One thing I do like about his TV watching is that Disney channel and Noggin both don't show commercials on their morning shows, so at least he's not going to be inundated with advertisements in addition to the cartoons he likes.

It's nice that we have a DVR so we can tape shows that he likes and put them on any time of the day when he is fussy, which luckily isn't too often. We also make sure that he gets plenty of time reading books and playing outdoors as well. I'm happy to say that I think that he likes to be outside better than anything else at this point, and his books do get picked up a lot when he's playing.

No matter how much or how little TV he watches, I'm going to feel bad. I suppose the fact that this bothers me at all means that we won't let him grow up being a complete TV junkie. Being a first time parent, I guess that is a normal worry (too much TV), but I'd be interested in anyone else's thoughts - feel free to drop me a comment if you have any insight or thoughts on the matter.

Cheers!

Super Dad? Or merely adequate? (part 2 of 2)

2007-12-26T14:51:00.000-06:00

...So back to my thoughts on fatherhood (after a nice bit of rambling in that last post).

As I said before, my college days helped prepare me for the lack of sleep that I'm now getting with a 1 year old in the house, another one on the way, and a sick wife to boot. When I look at the number of times that I have forced myself out of bed early to get up with the boy, or have made myself stay up the extra 20 minutes to wash the dishes so my wife doesn't have to, I feel like I have been a super dad (if not a super husband as well).

But all of this stuff is mostly in the background - my son doesn't see me doing these things, and if he could, who would care at a little over a year old? I often worry that my actual 'rubber meets the road' parenting that I do with my son is only adequate, not super. True, the other things I do around the house, in the background, do contribute to him having a better life and more time with a less stressed mother for him. But I also worry that he's going to come to see me as the bleary-eyed, barely coherent person that I often am when I first wake up in the morning, and sometimes at the end of a long day at work.

I think for now, he's probably content with me tossing him in the air, or taking him on a quick wagon-ride around the block, but as he gets older, his interests are going to expand and I'm going to have to step it up to maintain the "Super Dad" label. While some of these things will invariably be fun (camping trips, building model rockets, or any number of other things that little boys enjoy doing), the thought of keeping myself active in his pursuits of learning and experiencing all of the fun things in life also makes me very tired. So very tired.

I think things will be better on the free time and sleep fronts by the time I'll be doing those things with my son (unless my wife and I lose our minds and decide to have a third child right on the heels of #1 and (soon to be) #2). I hope they are, because I'm either going to have to cut out a lot of 'me' time or start doing something to increase my stamina. I might even have to start exercising (shudder).

that's all for now!

Super Dad? Or merely adequate? (part 1 of 2)

2007-12-26T13:27:00.000-06:00

I often find myself wondering what kind of father I'll be, especially now that my son is walking around and starting to talk. I never really thought/worried about it much until I got married, but now it seems to consume a lot of my idle thoughts.

Before I met my wife, I never really thought I'd even get married. I've never been the 'ladies man' type, so dating for me was few and far between, with very mixed results, so I figured it would be easier to stay single. My view on children was pretty limited as well.

At that point, I knew that snotty kids were gross because the world (and sometimes you, by extension) was their Kleenex. Not that they maliciously wipe their noses or other snot-covered appendages on you, but with kids it seemed inevitable, regardless of intent. I also knew that kids could be cool too, but never really spent much time around young kids have the aforementioned aversion to snot, but also because I'm always worried that I would be the one to hold the baby wrong and break it's neck or be throwing a kid up in the air into a ceiling fan or something similar to that. It's not like I'm that oblivious to my surroundings, but I'm also incredibly gifted at continually proving Murphy's law without even trying.

In comes my wife. She absolutely swept me off my feet and caught me off guard. I'm not sure why, but I met her at a time where I was sure that I was going to grow old by myself, and also decided that pursuing a serious relationship was not something I wanted at the time. Boy did that change.

This chance meeting also put the wheels in motion for getting me over my fear of snot, although indirectly. My wife has two very large dogs that were pretty fond of drooling and snotting all over things, so after living with her for a while, I kind of got desensitized to it.

My wife has always been a kid person. She's had several gigs being a nanny and a child-care worker at a local daycare facility. I wasn't necessarily against having kids, but even when I just thought they were gross, I didn't actively think about having kids. My general uncertainties about being a dad lasted up until the minute my son was born.

As soon as I stopped bouncing off the walls long enough to actually hold and look at my baby boy, my feelings changed in an instant. I now didn't care about snot, or 'breaking' the baby, or any of the other things that made me squeamish about kids. Here was my son, and I knew right away that I wanted to be the best father I could be from that moment on, but at the same time, the weight of that obligation didn't cause me anxiety like it had before his birth.

Switch to a little more than a year into the future, and we're at my current state of mind, which hasn't changed, it's only matured, in a sense. For a few months after the birth, I was so wrapped up in the excitement of being a new dad, that all of the challenges didn't daunt me a bit. Reality has a way of slowly creeping back in, however, and i started to realize that being a great dad sounds great in theory, but it takes a lot of thought and effort as well.

I still love my son as much, if not more, than I did when he was first born. But now my drive to become the best father ever has some competition from work, family/home commitments, etc, so finding time to be a super dad seems harder now that I've been back in the fray for a year. My wife is also pregnant with our second (yay!), and although she is not nearly as sick as she was with the first, she's still out of commission for part of the day, especially in the mornings. That means that I'm now taking on more day to day things that she did (and I subsequently took for granted) like washing dishes/clothes, keeping things relatively tidy around the house, and getting up with the boy in the mornings.

I'm not much of a morning person, but I am a big night owl, so my bedtime is not conducive to me getting up early. Luckily, all the partying in college has really helped me out here since I can still go to bed late and squeeze in some time to catch up on work, think of new ideas to go into business for myself (and the research that goes along with it), and just generally getting some nice 'quiet time' to myself to play video games or pursue other hobbies that aren't so easy when the kid is awake. I can't keep myself going on as little sleep as I was used to in college, but I can still hold my own, and I now recognize my hard-partying days in college as the training that was necessary to get me to this point.

First Post!

2007-12-26T13:07:00.000-06:00

Hello all,
I'm not normally a blogger-type person (not being terribly creative is one of my barriers), but I'm going to give it the old college try and see what happens. I had to pick a subject that I'm excited and passionate about, and 2-3 things immediately come to mind. I enjoy music, video games, and absolutely adore my family (wife, Dalia & son, Elijah).

Given that there are tons of both music and video game-related blogs, websites, etc, I decided to focus this blog on my family, and more specifically, on my new role as a father (my son was born a little over a year ago).

So without further delay, I present my first blog post! Hopefully I will keep the posts fairly consistent, although given my predilection for writing far more concisely than I tell stories orally (if you ask my wife), I hope that my brevity will not be a turn-off. Who knows? Maybe my gift for rambling on and on about things in spoken form will carry over into my written communication as well. God help us all if that happens :)

Adios!

Brandon, aka Cool Daddy-O