If you live in the United States, you’re probably aware that at this very moment Hurricane Irene is barreling towards the northern two-thirds of the East Coast. If, like me, you live in or near the hurricane’s projected path, you’re …
Continue ReadingHilary DeCesare made a career out of helping executives put strategic frameworks around their products and services. It wasn’t until her three children entered the tweens, though, that she realized how under-served that population is when it comes to social …
Continue ReadingAn article appeared recently in the New York Times with the headline “With Kids and Coffee Tables, It’s Trip, Fall, Ouch.” The article goes to great lengths to warn parents of the dangers of having a coffee table in the home. …
Continue ReadingGamers, parents, media gadflies, lend me your ears. Um, eyes? Wait. No. Let me start over. Much has been made of the warning posted on Nintendo’s Japanese web site cautioning that small children refrain from using their forthcoming 3DS system …
Continue ReadingIf you’re like many modern parents with little kids, you’ve probably got two cars, but one car seat per child, which you move back and forth depending on who’s playing chauffeur for the day. If you’re lucky, you might even …
Continue ReadingEditor’s Note: This is another in a series of guest posts by Adam Rosenberg (adam@cdt.org), New Media Manager, Center for Democracy & Technology. When I was growing up, getting a phone in your room (or even your own line!), if …
Continue ReadingEvery day, it seems, we’re presented with more things to worry about, particularly when it comes to our kids. Are you teaching them foreign languages while they’re young? How many minutes do you read to them per day? What about …
Continue ReadingIn the very near future we will have our first GeekTeen driver in our home. One with a full driver’s license instead of the learner’s permit that is presently being carried. So, we’re faced with the task of adjusting to this new milestone in life, and working through the technological advancements that have sprung into […]
Continue ReadingAll good parents are convinced that they would do anything to keep their kids safe, and would never do anything to hurt them. Unfortunately, we’re wrong, and possibly dangerously so. My own self-confidence took a huge blow when I read this amazing article from the March 8 Washington Post Magazine, written by the usually-humorous Gene […]
Continue ReadingAs recent winter storms here in Ontario have once again illustrated, it’s always a good idea to be prepared for an emergency. We’re big on this concept at Wired, having put out a few emergency guides like How To Survive a Power Blackout and The Smarter Emergency Kit. But, I figure the US Department of […]
Continue ReadingDavid Hahn was a geeky kid growing up in the suburbs of Detroit during the early 1990′s. Like most geeky kids, he was socially awkward and had an intense fascination with very narrow subject matter; in his case, science. But when David began working on his Atomic Energy Merit Badge, his rather obsessive pursuits nearly […]
Continue ReadingIn 1970′s rural Minnesota, my parents let me ride my bike. I made jumps out of wood scraps, regularly rode 2 miles alone to the library and rode back loaded with books. The ape hanger handlebars and a banana seat were cool, but not as cool as my brother’s Evel Knievel knobby-tired bike. We had […]
Continue ReadingGlenn Martin wants to beat the Bell Rocket Belt, which never achieved more than 30 seconds of controlled flight. He’s spent 27 years trying to build a personal aircraft capable of sustained, controlled flight in backpack form. He proved it can be done in Oshkosh, WI at this week’s AirVenture. He strapped his 16 year […]
Continue ReadingIf you’re interested in getting rid of bisphenol-A containing polycarbonate bottles or cups for either yourself or your kids (little bodies are the biggest concern), ZRecs has a few resources you might be interested in.
Continue ReadingBy now, most of us know we must get rid of plastic baby bottles (among other things) that contain the compound Bisphenol-A. (For some of the most exhaustive reporting out there on the presence of BPA in baby products, check out GeekDad Jeremiah McNichols’s blog Z Recommends). But what to do with all of those […]
Continue ReadingRick Klau is a Geek Dad who got mad and did something about it… Several months ago, I wrote about the horror I experienced reading about Magnetix toys in the Chicago Tribune. These toys – dozens of which were in our house at the time – had killed a young boy and injured many […]
Continue ReadingI found this today via Neatorama, who links to a variety of others sites. This fellow has printed cardboard cut-outs of his kids, and put them near the street where traffic usually speeds by too quickly. The effect? Slower traffic, and a few folks yelling at him for letting his kids play so close to […]
Continue ReadingThe Times of London published an interesting article this week on the technology and ethics of tagging kids with RFID as a safety precaution. It discusses gadgets currently on the market as well as future possibilities. Any thoughts on this from the Geekdad community? Does it make a difference to you whether the tag is […]
Continue Reading