Summer Science Fun: The Moon
The summer is a great time to observe the moon. Learn about the moon, some of its history, and how lunar eclipses occur.
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Author: Helene McLaughlin
Star Wars Workbooks – “Much to learn you still have.”
Make reviewing academics before school starts fun for your little jedi or siths! Workman Publishing has created a set of 12 affordable academic workbooks for preschool through second grade. This GeekMom loves them!
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Explore Space With LittleBits
This week littleBits announced the results of their partnership with NASA Goddard Space Flight Center when they announced the latest in their line of product kits.
Continue ReadingGeekMom Holiday Traditions: Ornaments with Meaning
GeekMom Helene’s family Christmas tree tree tells the family history one ornament at a time.
Continue ReadingGovernment Shutdown: Frozen Scientific Research
The government shutdown, from a GeekMom point of view.
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Hangout with Astronauts Today
Today, May 23rd, from 3-4 PM EDT, you can join a NASA hosted Google+ hangout with three of the former International Space Station (ISS) astronauts. NASA astronauts Kevin Ford and Tom Marshburn and Chris Hadfield of the Canadian Space Agency are back home in Houston, Texas, and undergoing physical rehabilitation after their recent return from their extended time in the nearly weightless environment.
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Anakin Skywalker’s New Shoes
When Anakin was a young boy, he must have been outfitted with shoes from the Stride Rite on Tatooine. These children’s shoes are the latest in the Star Wars collection offered by Stride Rite. This latest collection was designed especially for the youngling that isn’t sure wether they are destined to be a Jedi or a Sith. The shoes are designed with color morphing lightsabers! Younglings can explore both sides of the force equally before they must choose.
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Finally, a Smaller, More Affordable Cricut Product: A Cricut Mini Review
The Cricut Mini is a great cutting unit for those of you who are curious about precision die cutters, but aren’t sure about paying for a more expensive system. It’s a great tool for anyone that needs to make bulletin boards on a regular basis. However, the Cricut brand is unlikely to be the right fit for anyone looking for a die cutting machine that allows true creative freedom.
Continue ReadingDining with The Doctor: A Cookbook for Whovians
This year promises all sorts of Doctor Who goodness with the anticipation of the 50th anniversary episode in November. In searching on Amazon.com and came across Chris-Rachael Oseland’s recently published, Dining With The Doctor: The Unauthorized Whovian Cookbook.
Continue ReadingThe Sky is Falling! Asteroids and Meteors on the Same Day!
So maybe the sky isn’t falling, but it’s quite the coincidence that an asteroid and a meteor both descended upon our little plot of the universe within about 15 hours of one another. While many skywatchers have been anxiously awaiting the close approach of Asteroid 2012 DA14, they were completely taken by surprise when a 500-ton meteor that streaked across the Russian Ural sky earlier the same day.
Continue ReadingThe Birth of Doctor Who for A New Generation
Yesterday BBC America announced details of a Doctor Who made-for-tv movie that it is filming this year in celebration of the famous shows 50th anniversary. As was commissioned in August of 2012, An Adventure in Time and Space will detail the earliest years of the Doctor Who empire from its creation through its initial filming with William Hartnell. The movie is a co-production by BBC America and BBC Cymru Wales. The script was written by Mark Gatiss, co-creator of hit BBC show Sherlock.
Continue ReadingDoctor Who 50th Anniversary Script Has ALL Eleven Doctors
As of today Steven Moffat has confirmed that he is completing a script that will feature the current Doctor, Matt Smith, facing a foe so great that he will need assistance from all ten of the previous TARDIS inhabitants. Roumors suggest, Eccelston is in!!! The producers have gotten agreements from all living actors who have ever played the Doctor; Tom Baker, Peter Davison, Colin Baker, Sylvester McCoy, Paul McGann, Christopher Eccleston, David Tennant, and Matt Smith. With some studio special effects they have even resurrected William Hartnell, Patrick Troughton, and Jon Pertwee.
Continue ReadingGeeking Out My Photography Business
When I decided to pick up my camera to earn a few extra bucks to pay bills while I stayed at home with my boys, I always wanted to focus on geeks. I wanted to set-up photo booths at geek conventions for folks to get pics of their costuming at conventions. I wanted to get pictures of little kids geeking out over a comic book or their favorite superhero. I wanted to find a pregnant geek who wanted to paint Chuthlu (or pie charts) on their belly. I wanted to be a geeky photographer for geeks. Well, in an effort to pay bills, wants changed to needs and I didn’t turn away any potential client, but I was always on the lookout for that amazing geeky shoot. Last week, I finally got a chance to do exactly what I wanted in a Doctor Who themed shoot and I was ecstatic!
Continue ReadingAppCrayon: Fine Motor Skills Technology
The AppCrayon by DanoToys is the first stylus I’ve ever seen with a triangular shaft designed by teachers and therapists for use by kindergarteners still working on their tripod writing grips. The stylus is plastic, slightly over sized and has a bit larger tip then most styluses making it perfect for kids. This stylus feels very much like a triangular crayon, but looks different enough that a child should confuse a real crayon for the stylus on the screen. Its designed with a small loop on the back to attach to a lanyard or hook if there are worries about misplacing it. The stylus is completely universal so even though it was designed in conjunction with an Apple app, the stylus can be used with over 300,000 apps and is compatible with nearly every touchscreen device.
I’d highly recommend the AppCrayon for any child with a touchscreen device, especially for young ones still practicing a proper pencil grip.
Continue ReadingThrough a Geek Lens: Not Your Typical Christmas Tree!
When thinking about Christmas, its pretty typical to think about a lovely evergreens filled with ornaments you have collected throughout the years. However, sometimes some of the most beautiful “trees” aren’t trees at all.
Continue ReadingHolding Our Children Closer Tonight
Mourning the loss of life in Connecticut and holding our own children close tonight.
Continue ReadingHave you registered for the 19th Annual Great Moonbuggy Race?
Dreaming of being an astronaut is a phase just about everyone goes through at one point in their lives. It’s a much smaller amount of people who decide to peruse that dream when they grow-up. While not everyone might go into space, everyone has the opportunity to race on the moon…. well almost. For the last 19 years, NASA has given high school and college teams from across the globe a chance to compete against each other for the title of “Greatest Moonbuggy of the Year”.
Continue ReadingPlastic Found on Mars… And Five Other Famous Hoaxes
Have you heard, Mardi Gras has made it to Mars!!! Yesterday there were rumors flying about the internet about a massive discovery of plastic found on Mars. With only a quick glance it seemed to be a legit press release from Jet Propulsion Lab in California. However, for anyone that looked at the article for more then 30 seconds it was obvious that this was a nicely executed hoax. Phil Plait from Bad Astronomer wrote a great post last night listing all of the ways that this hoax outed itself. The prankster obviously wanted to take advantage of the “earthshaking” announcement from last week that something was found on Mars. Its been later determined that even that previous press release was an over exaggeration by a reporter after an interview with a Curiosity team member.
Massive scientific hoaxes aren’t new, they have been around for ages. Sometimes they are a lot harder to spot then this one, and cause a lot more confusion then this little prank. One of the greatest achievements of the scientific method is the ability for correction over time. No matter how elaborate the hoax, science will be able to eventually prove or disprove a skeptic. There are times that hoaxes almost get by without detection, and as a reminder to stay ever vigilant to the proof here are five of the greatest scientific hoaxes of all time.
Continue ReadingPhotography Snapshot: Exposure Triangle
In the last couple months my Photography Snapshot series has focused on the theory of light and how it behaves as it created images in an optical system. I’m planning to shift my focus now from the theoretical side of photography to the practical components of taking magnificent photos. This snapshot will focus on creating the perfectly exposed image and the three most important elements in determining exposure. So pick up your camera, its time to play.
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Mattel Goes to Mars With Its 2012 Collection
This weekend my boys and I happened through the toy aisles where I spotted this amazing little gem, just sitting on a shelf. Mattel has cast a die model of the awe-inspiring NASA Mars Curiosity rover. These little rovers are likely going to be extremely collectible and won’t be in stores long.
Continue ReadingTruncated Icosahedron: Maker Faire NYC Most Memorable for Kids
While attending World Maker Faire in New York earlier this month, I was surrounded by hundreds of DIY projects that had been dreamt up by hackers and makers around the world. The projects were magnificent! From the moment I walked through the gates for set-up on Friday till we had to leave to drive home on Sunday, there was one display that I was magnetized to. From afar it imply looked like a large wooden sculpture of an soccer ball. I had to know more. I immediately went up and started taking pictures, it was massive and very impressive. The structure was a truncated icosahedron and I hadn’t even seen the best part of the sculpture at that point. Rob Marshall, owner of Hamlet Construction, had turned this ancient design into what he calls the “Happy Fun Ball.”
Continue ReadingA Social Network for Women Facing Breast Cancer
MyHealthTeams announced today its release of a new social networking site, MyBreastCancerTeam or MyBCTeam, is designed specifically for women facing a battle with breast cancer. The site is open to women currently receiving treatment, those recently diagnosed and even those who are 15+ year survivors. MyBCTeam uniquely allows women to come together, find others by age, location or even by diagnosis and treatments. I’ve often heard the best and easiest advice to hear is from someone who is/was going through exactly what you have had to go through. MyBCTeam provides these women a network to share stories, treatment tips, doctor referrals, scarf fashion trends, current research studies, fears, inspiration and day-to-day support.
Continue ReadingPhotography Snapshot: The Power of Lenses
This article is the third in a series teaching the basics of photography. We started by learning about the properties of light and how an image is created, we also learned how a lens bends light to focus individual rays into a single bright image. This lesson we are going to finish learning the scientific theory of lenses and how to use lenses for magnification in addition to brightness.
Continue ReadingMy First Designer Handbag and It’s for My Camera!
In a house full of boys, I rarely indulge in items specifically for myself. When I do, they have to be durable and practical. I am a photographer, my camera bag is always stuffed to the gills with camera bodies, lenses, filters, flashes, reflectors, my laptop, and various other things. Up till now I have been happily using a Tamrac Adventure 9 Photo/Computer Backpack. As you might imagine, the backpack had gotten extremely heavy to carry all of my gear when I headed out to a shoot. I was on the look out for a smaller bag that could hold my camera, an extra lens, my phone, and wallet; the bare essentials for a shoot. When I received my Dre Hartmann Cameron Hobo DSLR Camera Bag in the mail, I was impressed but intimidated. It’s white, it’s trendy, and it’s designer. I’ve never been a designer handbag carrier, as a mom I’ve always been terrified of carrying a bag that my kids could ruin by spilling juice on or dragging through the grass. I’m proud to admit that I am a complete convert; seriously I’ll never go back. I absolutely adore this bag.
Continue ReadingioShutter: Control your DSLR with your iPhone
I sometimes wish that my iPhone was my remote control for everyday life. I want it to do everything for me, or at least make life easier. Ever since I started taking an interest in photography, I’ve wanted to be able to link my iPhone to my DSLR camera to extend my reach and take self portraits. As you can imagine, I was thrilled when I received a review copy of the ioShutter cable to try for myself from Photojojo (a photographers haven of awesomeness)!
Continue ReadingRIP Neil Armstrong, A Huge Loss for Mankind
Neil Armstrong’s first step on the moon made him famous, but his “one small step for man… one giant leap for mankind” immortalized him. Today GeekMom, NASA, America, and the entire world, lost a great man. Neil Armstrong passed away today, at the age of 82, of cardio-vascular complications after undergoing heart-bypass surgery. Armstrong lived in Cincinnati, Ohio with his wife Carol.
Continue ReadingPhotography Snapshot: Light Bends and Focuses
In my previous Photography Snapshot, I discussed the importance of light and how it bounces to create images. In this Snapshot we will discuss the difference between reflection and refraction, how a lens focuses light and how a lense’s focal length will impact an image.
Continue ReadingPhotography Snapshot: Why is Light Important?
Over the next few weeks, I’m going to share a number of lessons dealing with the essentials of photography, some of the science behind the images, and products that are likely to make your pictures easier or better. This first lesson will deal with the basic properties of light and the most basic ways to capture that light. Future lessons will talk about the exposure triangle: aperture, shutter speed and ISO.
Continue ReadingMars Curiosity Lands Tonight!
Mars Curiosity is scheduled to land tonight at 10:31 p.m. PDT, Aug. 5 (1:31 a.m. EDT Aug. 6).
Continue ReadingGeek Burlesque is Like Nothing You’ve Seen Before
If you have never been to a burlesque show, maybe now is the time to go. Still not convinced? How about if it incorporated a Ghostbusters parody, a Star Wars vs. Star Trek battle, steampunk, or maybe a zombie hunt?
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