GeekDad Parents, Kids and the Stuff We Obsess About

Zibits Mini R/C Robots Giveaway

splash_zibit2

Image by Senario

I’m a sucker for small robots, and have a thriving community of the creatures migrating back and forth between my office and home. I suspect they hitch rides in my camera bag, but haven’t been able to catch any of them in the act. Last month a Wall-E and M-O showed up on the dining room table, much to my son’s delight.

He was equally pleased to see the review sample of a Zibits on my desk. The Zibits are a mini r/c robot with a price point of about $10. They should be a good fit as a quick and easy birthday present, or an inexpensive desk toy.

Time will tell if they hold up to play testing, but so far this one is entertaining. The simple remote lets you drive them forward and spin backward, much like the cheap R/C cars that Radio Shack used to sell. A two channel remote might have been more fun, but could have driven the cost up a little.

So now for the giveaway. Just post a comment telling us about your favorite robot (real or fictitious) for a chance to win. We’ll consult with random.org to pick 5 lucky winners. Deadline is Midnight on Saturday.

Wired: Robots are always cool. Remote makes sound.

Tired: 2 AAA batteries required. Remote makes sound.

Available from Amazon, eToys, and ToysRUs.

Crazy commercial video after the jump.

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National Geographic Goes Wild

nat-geo-wild-logo

We are always looking for good things on television for our kids. I don’t have a problem with television. It’s just a box that displays pictures and makes sound. Content is the key to the good things about television and the bad things about television.

The best television is something that you like, something the kids like and something that teaches all us. National Geographic has always been a source of good television content.

Now they are launching a new television network: Nat Geo Wild.

I’m not sure how they are going to divide the content between this new channel and the existing National Geographic Channel. According to Geoff Daniels, Senior Vice President, Development & Production of Nat Geo WILD:

“Nat Geo WILD will offer viewers extraordinary and unforgettable stories of the animal kingdom through a mix of both series and specials – ranging from “Expedition Wild with Casey Anderson” to “Rebel Monkeys.” National Geographic Channel will continue to be programmed more broadly with a rich tapestry of adventure, exploration, culture and science programming including a select number of natural history specials.”

I guess that means more wild animals and less Dog Whisperer on Wild.

Copies of some new shows ended up in my mailbox. We watched some episodes of Rebel Monkeys, Shark Island, the Brutus episode of Expedition Wild with Casey Anderson and Hunt for the Giant Octopus.

Rebel Monkeys follows a gang of monkeys making their home at the Galta Temple in the Indian city of Jaipur. It’s sort of an urban version of Meerkat Manor. Brutus is a 900 pound grizzly bear rescued by Casey Anderson who is trying to teach Brutus the skills he needs to survive when he is released to the wild. Here is a snippet from Expedition Wild, with Casey Anderson trying to teach Brutus how to fish. Shark Island was a big hit as it followed an exploration of Cocos Island and the hundreds of sharks that flock to its waters.

The clear favorite was Hunt for the Giant Octopus. My six-year old watched it non-stop for a few days. There is a great video footage, a great story and great lessons. Set your TIVO, it Premieres Tuesday, April 20, at 9 PM ET/PT.

fox_reality-logo

The “bad” news is that when Nat Geo Wild launches on March 29th it will replace the Fox Reality channel. I admit that I’m a fan of many reality TV shows. But I find them completely uninteresting in repeats and you’re not going to find anything good for the kids on there. So we get a GeekDad win, losing an uninteresting cable channel and getting one that is great for our geeklets.

If you don’t currently get the Fox Reality channel you’ll need to check with your cable provider. Nat Geo Wild is a joint venture between National Geographic and Fox.

I should disclose that my company has a significant business relationship with News Corp, the parent company of Fox, and that I got big box of swag from National Geographic promoting the new channel.

Images and video courtesy of Nat Geo Wild.

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Dork Tower Wednesday

Dork Tower #810 by John Kovalic

Dork Tower #810 by John Kovalic

Read all the Dork Towers that have run on GeekDad.

Find the Dork Tower archives, DT printed collections, more cool comics, awesome games and a whole lot more at the Dork Tower Website.

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Comics Spotlight on: Bleach

Happy Comic Release Day!

When my two sons take twenty volumes of a manga out of the local library and devour them all in one weekend, I pay attention.

That’s exactly what happened with Bleach by Tito Kube from Viz Media.

Bleach #1

Bleach #1

Summary:

Ichigo Kurosaki has always been able to see ghosts. When his family is attacked by a Hollow–a ghost without a soul–Ichigo accidentally becomes part of the community of soul reapers. The reapers help new ghosts pass onto the other side and protect humans from the malevolent Hollows.

The first story arc follows Ichigo as he’s trained in his new abilities by Rukia Kuchiki, the soul reaper who saved his life in his first encounter with a Hollow. Rukia’s abilities were transferred to Ichigo in that fight and the tension and then growing friendship between the two of them fuels some of the story’s finest moments.

What Kids Will Like About It:

I asked my eldest son what kept him so enthralled and while he admitted that there are “lots and lots of fights,” he said what he loved most was the character development and the unpredictable plot elements.

There’s no romance between Ichigo and Rukia but they do have a very strong bond of friendship. His favorite moment in the whole series is when Ichigo defies the entire soul reaper community to save Rukia from execution.

He said he was also surprised more than a few times when events which seemed to indicate one thing led to something completely different and more interesting.

What Parents Will Like About It:

This is an extremely cool idea. I especially like the villains, the Hollows. They’re ghosts that hung around too long on our plane and their souls were destroyed. As a result, they want to devour other souls. The villains in the current story arc are Hollows who can pass as humans. As my son says, the more human they look, the more dangerous they are.

I also liked something I’ve noticed in other manga–the strong sense of responsibility of the main character. I’ve read two volumes sent to me by Viz and understood completely why this manga is so popular. Ichigo is loyal but not blindly loyal so. He honors his friendships and protects the innocent.

Best Panel:

I continue to be a little bit frustrated by the backwards setup of  manga. It’s not so much the turning of the pages as it is training my eyes to move in a completely different direction to read the panel flow correctly. I also get  annoyed at the manga conventions of overly dramatic facial expressions.

That said, the black and white art makes the actions of the characters incredibly crisp and clean. In the volume I read, there’s a full-page panel of Ichigo finally summoning his greatest weapon that is incredibly impressive.

About the Creator:

Tite Kubo, the creator of Bleach, is thirty-two years old. He started writing after graduation from high school. He’s been writing the series since 2001, when it first appeared in the Shonen Jump anthology series. He’s said in a Shonen Jump interview that he has no interest in seeing a live-action version of his creation.

However, there is a very popular anime of Bleach that follows the manga closely. My son highly recommends that too.

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Top 10 Geeky Changes Included in the Health Care Reform Bill

This is a medical related picture. (image: Me.)

This is a medical related picture. (image: Me.)

Here at GeekDad we tend to stay out of politics in general and we certainly don’t choose sides. However, with the recent passing of the Health Care Reform bill through Congress we can’t pretend we aren’t aware of what is going on in the world. Not getting too deep into the politics or the function of government, we know it’s a law and it’s going to be implemented over the next few years. But this health care bill has spawned a lot of questions, such as; will this cost me more? Will there be more insurance providers? What about the middle class squeeze? And of course, will my IRS agent also be my primary care doctor?

These questions are all well and good, but the most important concern is: how is universal health care reform going to affect us geeks? What changes can we expect in our lives? With that in mind, I came up with a completely random and poorly researched list of geeky changes that may or may not come with the Health Care Reform bill. That is, some of these are actual stipulations of the bill that will be in effect by 2014 and some are just plain made up. These are just gut shot reactions based on too much caffeine too late at night.

10: On Free Comic Day, everyone gets free reading glasses. Part of the new vision plan includes a pair of folding reading glasses for every comic book geek. They might not need them now, but with nearly one trillion dollars to spend, might as well get them while you can.

9: Insurance companies will no longer be allowed to drop anyone with a pre-existing condition. That means those of us with eyestrain, Nintendo Thumb; Nintendenitis; tennis elbow; tendonitis; bursitis; and carpal tunnel syndrome are good to go.

8: Considering the above conditions, Mountain Dew and Fritos will become prescription drugs. They’ll still be available over the counter, but the prescription strength Mountain Dew will cause gamers to feel no pain and never blink.

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Ada Lovelace Day: Celebrate Women in Technology

Ada Lovelace (Image: Public Domain from Wikipedia)

Ada Lovelace (Image: Public Domain from Wikipedia)

Today is Ada Lovelace Day, a day to celebrate women and girls in technology. It is in honor of Ada Lovelace, obviously, who is often credited with writing the first computer program.

Ada Lovelace was often ill as a child, but she kept up her education during her illnesses. She learned mathematics and science from private tutors. She then went on to work and correspond with Charles Babbage, leading to the important work of hers that we know today. She worked with him in relation to his mechanical analytical engine. This engine was inspired by Babbage’s difference engine, a version of which is on display at Mountain View, California’s Computer History Museum. It is quite an impressive sight to see it in action!



After reading more about her life and her work, I still feel it is best summarized by BrainPOP’s Ada Lovelace video, which is designed for kids.

Like GeekDad discovered on Ada Lovelace Day last year, AdaFruit Industries appears to be having a sale on their products today.

Ada’s short life was fascinating, and definitely inspiring to women and girls in science and technology. She has even inspired someone to create a LEGO minifig in her honor. Perhaps one day her story will be more widely known. In the meantime, we can do our part by enjoying some books that allow for a deeper reading into her life, or visiting other sites that are blogging about her today.

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Awesomeness From A to Z

Image copyright © Neill Cameron

Image copyright © Neill Cameron

Last June and July, the artist Neill Cameron crowdsourced ideas for an alphabet of awesomeness. Between readers on his blog, his followers on Twitter, and commenters on his Facebook page, twenty-six sufficiently awesome ideas were generated, and Cameron produced some brilliant art based on each.

The project, called “A to Z of Awesomeness,” can be seen on Cameron’s website. Truly, the art for each letter would pass pretty much any test of awesomeness any geek could come up with. While I might call the art for “J” a bit disconcerting, I certainly can raise no objection to the choice. I can’t decide which of the letters I like best — “F,” seen above, is definitely a contender.

(Hat tip: MetaFilter)

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The Cooper-Xavier Fallacy: “The Big Bang Theory” Sacrifices Accuracy for Humor

Pretty much all of us at GeekDad love “The Big Bang Theory.” It’s possibly the first show that has ever successfully managed to make fun of and celebrate geeks at the same time. Plus, they have an evil version of honorary GeekDad Wil Wheaton as a recurring character, which is all kinds of awesome.

One of the the things we love so much about the show is that they work really hard to make the geeky references accurate, particularly when it comes to Sheldon Cooper. Alas, in last night’s episode “The Pants Alternative,” the show either made an uncharacteristic mistake or deliberately sacrificed accuracy for the sake of a joke that otherwise would not have worked. Yes, Sheldon actually made an error with regard to — if you can believe it — a comic book!

The error occurred in the scene from the video above, when the group of friends were trying to convince Sheldon that they could help him overcome his stage fright and give a speech when accepting a prestigious award. The idea was brought up that they were Sheldon’s X-Men. The scene ended with this exchange:

Penny: So what do you say, Sheldon — are we your X-Men?

Sheldon: No, the X-Men were named for the “X” in “Charles Xavier.” Since I am Sheldon Cooper, you will be my “C-Men.”

Fans of the “X-Men” comic must all have gasped when they heard this blatant mistake. We all know that the “X” in “X-Men” has nothing whatever to do with Professor Xavier’s last name, and everything to do with the “X-factor” in the mutants’ genes that gives them their superpowers. Originally, the “X” referred not to that but to the “extra” power mutants had over normal humans, but it has never, ever referred to “Xavier.” And Sheldon, who is even more of a repository of useless trivia than most geeks, would surely have known that.

Perhaps the writers were confused by Professor Xavier’s “Professor X” superhero name, figuring that if he chose his alternate identity based on his last name he must have named the group that way, too. Or perhaps they simply chose to sacrifice their trademark accuracy for the sake of the “C-Men” joke (which was brought up again later in the episode as well).

I think we can forgive them this slip-up, since the show is still one of the best things on television. Now we’ll just have to keep a really close eye on the show to make sure that they don’t slip up again. Hmm … maybe that was their plan all along. Well played, Chuck Lorre, well played.

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Warning: Girl Cooties Below

I never did anything “girlie” growing up.

My interests were comic books, football, baseball, Tarzan, and lots of science fiction/fantasy novels. I had toy guns, not make-up kits. I had the Johnny West action figures, not the Barbie dream house.

I did love the Nancy Drew, Trixie Belden and the Black Stallion books. Those, of course, are adventure stores. I’m not sure they count.

Eventually, I did do some girlie things, most importantly, becoming a mom. Of course, I ended up raising geek kids, as evidenced by my daughter’s post about the Last Airbender.

But there’s one thing I do that’s completely girlie.

I write romance novels.

freyas-gift-final-font1

I didn’t set out to write romance novels. I set out to write stories that would relax my mind after a long day of dealing with four kids.

I’m not the sort of mom who treats herself with an afternoon of shopping or a visit to the spa. No, I’m the sort of mom who runs to my computer and makes up stories.

It took me over five years to sell my first fiction. Which is the reason for today’s post: that story is out today.

Freya’s Gift is an ebook available from Samhain Publishing, one of the largest ebook romance publishers. It’s also not just a romance novel. It’s an erotic romance novel.

What does that mean? It means it has explicit sex. I’m often asked what the difference between porn and erotica. To me, the difference is that porn is about the act itself, while erotica is about the feelings surrounding the act. (I know. Feelings. I warned you that girl cooties were in this post.)

But because I grew up reading mystery, fantasy and science fiction, most of my romance novels are amalgams of romance and another genre.

Freya’s Gift is alternate history and takes place in a world where Vikings have crossed the Atlantic and intermarried with native Lenape tribes in North America. I was particularly interested in the clash between the cultures of the Lenape and the Vikings.

And to make the alternate universe even more fun for me to play with, I gave the Roman Empire another five hundred years and located one of their colonies in North America as well. That doesn’t come into play in Freya’s Gift but it does feature prominently in Dinah of Seneca, the full length novel that’s coming out in May.  That book, while it does contain romance and sex, isn’t erotica. And it has battles , sword fights, and explosions.  (Some superhero geeks might recognize the name of my heroine. Yes, Dinah Lance was an inspiration.)

I want to write stories that satisfy both romance readers and SF/F readers. A tall order but it’s what I like to read myself and there’s not enough of it for those like me. I figure the attempt is worth it. I’m thrilled that today marks the public beginning of all this.

In a strange syncronicity, I have a non-fiction essay coming out in the Chicken Soup for the Soul-Thanks Mom! book that’s being released today. It’s about how much I owe my mother for teaching me how to cope after the loss of my father, who died young.

Not such different subjects. I think I might be a little girlie after all.

The Force Is Strong with Amigurumi

By Lucy Collins (Angry Angel) / All Rights Reserved

By Lucy Collins (LucyRavenscar/Angry Angel) / All Rights Reserved

It is a rule universally acknowledged that all popular art forms eventually converge on the Star Wars universe. Amigurumi–Japanese-style crocheted figures–are no different. LucyRavenscar has designed a whole series of Star Wars themed amigurumi, inspired in part by the Star Wars LEGO aesthetic. Better yet, she’s offering the patterns for sale on Etsy, so that you can try it for yourself.

Here are a couple of examples (after the jump), taken from her Flickr set:

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