Happy Birthday, Dr. Seuss!
Today is the 109th anniversary of Theodor Seuss Geisel’s birth. The good “Dr.” may be gone, but we pay tribute to his legacy.
Continue ReadingAuthor: Russ Neumeier
An Adventure in Cable Cutting – After 11 Months
Eleven months into a cable-TV cutting adventure, this is an update to a discovery I made this summer to pull in NBC while the Olympics were going on. Had I not found this, I would have ended my cable-cutting and …
Continue ReadingThe (Remote Control) Circle of Life
The kids being the remote control for the family TV went full circle in my home recently – with a few modern twists that I never had to deal with as the one called on to get off the couch …
Continue ReadingAn Adventure in Cable Cutting – 5 Months in
So we’re nearly half a year into cutting the coax. For the past five months we’ve relied on over-the-air TV and video-streaming over the internet. It took four months, but we finally hit our sweet spot. We’ve gone from …
Continue ReadingAn Adventure in Cable Cutting – Nearly Three Months in
It was just over two and a half months ago that we called our cable company and had them come pick up their cable converter. We continue to tweak our cable-free existence and even with a couple rough spots, we …
Continue ReadingMore Minimalist Running With Skele-Toes Amp Barefoot Shoes
Part of the joy of being a GeekDad is finding things that both you and your kids can enjoy doing together. For my youngest and I, that common joy is running. We’ve run a few 5K races together over the …
Continue ReadingScience Project + Daughter + Dad = iTunes Hit?
I’m going to guess that most GeekDads love science (and they love even more that their kids love science) So, when a child comes home with a science project and you happen to have a bent for the musical side …
Continue ReadingAn Adventure in Cable Cutting – 3 Weeks In
So my family is nearly three weeks into cutting the cable TV to our house. Here are the results so far… I’ll just say it’s gone smoother than expected. Writing for myself, I haven’t really missed cable TV… but then …
Continue ReadingSpy on Your Siblings With SpyNet Stealth Video Glasses
My kids, much like your kids, I’m guessing, love the idea of spying on their siblings —particularly the younger ones spying on the older ones. My family got to try out a review pair of SpyNet Stealth Video Glasses and …
Continue ReadingOhio Day Trip: National Museum of the US Air Force
With our recent move to Ohio for a job and having lived in Wisconsin for the past 25 years, this GeekFamily is in the “we don’t know what we don’t know” phase of our new home state. We want to …
Continue ReadingAn Adventure in Cable Cutting – Day One
After many, many years of cable TV in this GeekDad’s house, we cut the coax. There are several reasons why the GeekMom and I chose to do this – and none of them have to do with being anti-TV. We’ve …
Continue ReadingDon’t Blink: Lego NXTs and an Android Smartphone Just Solved Your Rubik’s Cube
What do you get when you combine four Lego Mindstorms NXTs, a Samsung Galaxy SII, a Rubik’s Cube, and two creative minds? You get a robot that can solve the Rubik’s Cube faster than a human.
Continue ReadingFish-Eyes Doesn’t Keep The Kids’ Interest
What if, when you were fishing, you could see the fish so you knew where to cast your line? That’s the premise behind Fish-Eyes from Nextsport. It’s a rod and reel with an underwater camera, and a few months ago …
Continue Reading5 Steps to a Family-Safe Internet (GeekDad Wayback Machine)
I’ve reviewed several internet filtering and internet security products for GeekDad over the years. Each has pluses and minuses. I’ve decided to come clean with what my family runs: yes, we do filter the internet for our kids — but …
Continue ReadingGeekDad Exclusive: Nerf Meets Optimus Prime for Comic-Con
GeekDad has the exclusive reveal today of the new Nerf N-Strike Barricade RV-10 Special Edition Transformers Optimus Prime blaster. It will be available only at the San Diego Comic-Con and in limited quantities online. This Barricade RV-10 features styling based …
Continue ReadingThe Family Changes That Come This Time of Year
This year our family hits an important milestone. One that as a Dad (Geek- or non-) you both love and hate. The day your first child graduates high school. We’re only a few days from the big day, and part …
Continue ReadingSummer Viewing Fun From Netflix: Young Indiana Jones
My family has been fans of the Indiana Jones movies for a long time. My wife and I like them, and over the years the kids have liked them. Thanks to a dedicated reader giving us the heads-up a couple …
Continue ReadingHead-to-Head: Garmin Forerunner and Nike+
Running has been a significant part of my exercise regimen over the last three years. I’m also a geek and love my gadgets, so it was only natural that I would look for running gadgets to track my pace, time …
Continue ReadingSpare Room Holds Million-Dollar Comic Book Collection
A retired Minneapolis bus driver who died in a fire last year had a passion for comic books. The fire that took his life started in the kitchen, but a back bedroom filled with more than 20,000 comics was spared. …
Continue ReadingPirate Blast for the Wii: Easy to Pick Up But Not Much Staying Power
What do you get when you mix robotic pirates, monkeys, water cannons, and water balloons? The premise for Pirate Blast from Zoo Entertainment. Several weeks ago I got Pirate Blast for the Wii as a review copy. The game is …
Continue ReadingIt’s a Human’s Life
Our humans are funny creatures. There’s the sitting, the eating, the sleeping, the scratching. We’ve trained them to come when we need something and they carry the bags during our walk — those opposable thumbs are good for something. But …
Continue ReadingThe Tech Behind The ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex
The ESPN Wide World of Sports complex in Orlando is not for the casual tourist looking to score some sports memorabilia while visiting Orlando; rather, it’s a state-of-the-art sports facility with technology in every corner. In early March, GeekDad was …
Continue ReadingGeekDad Visits ESPN’s Wide World of Sports
Last week my family and I were invited to Disney’s ESPN Wide World of Sports complex in Orlando as HP unveiled the revamped HP Field House and new touch-screen kiosk technology for this state-of-the-art park. Why would GeekDad be interested …
Continue ReadingSilly Bandz: They’re Not Just for Your Wrists Anymore
In December I got a notice that the ubiquitous Silly Bandz were coming to video game format. Full disclosure: I was skeptical that it could work as a video game; however, with a child spending allowance to gain more Silly …
Continue ReadingGeoPalz Gets The Kids Moving
We all hear about how (nearly) everyone these days is overweight and out of shape…including many of our kids. GeoPalz comes along as a way to get kids active and moving. I was able to get a couple of my …
Continue ReadingUnintentional Calvin-esque Snowman
So the Midwest and Northeast United States are getting pounded with snow, ice, blizzards, etc. Little did I realize the snowman that my youngest child made a couple days ago would turn into a Calvin & Hobbes style snowman. Let’s …
Continue ReadingOne Geek Family’s Faux Connectivity
Ok. I’m gonna be honest. The past couple weekends I’ve noticed something. The entire family (or as near as you can get with a couple of teens living at home with jobs and/or significant others) is in the same room …
Continue ReadingOld School Winter Fun
All right. It is winter. In Wisconsin… the kids want to do stuff and the GeekMom wants the kids outside. What to do? What to do? Ice skating. …but we’re not talking a Zamboni-smoothed ice rink in a climate controlled …
Continue ReadingHoliday Traditions and Monumental Moments
This has been the week for holiday celebrations. It is one of traditions and monumental moments for our family. It’s filled with tradition because for the twelfth or thirteenth year we did what we always do on Christmas Eve. It …
Continue ReadingGive The Gift of Geek This Holiday Season
We’re geeks. We love giving geeky, technology-related gifts. We don’t (always) like being the default technical support for said gifts. If you’re familiar with the “For Dummies” series of books, then you might just have an out on the tech …
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