Lawrence, Kansas: Secret Science Fiction Wonderland

Credit: Center for the Study of Science Fiction

Lawrence, Kansas is a great place to be a geek. It’s home of the University of Kansas and the Center for the Study of Science Fiction. Every year since 1979 they’ve handed out the John W. Campbell Memorial Award for the best science-fiction novel of the year, and in 1987, they added the  Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award for the best short science fiction of the year.

These are two pretty prestigious awards for winners, and the campus holds an awards ceremony and the Campbell Conference every July (July 5-8 this year). There are also novel and short story writing workshops lead by some of the best in the industry, so this is a great place to be for the aspiring writer, too. For those who don’t want to register or attend the all day conference, there’s also a massive book signing every year.

Now, I realize not everyone is lucky enough to live in Lawrence or have the financial means for a summer trip to the area. For everyone else, I suggest checking out AboutSF, an educational outreach effort by the Center for the Study of Science Fiction,   Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, and the Science Fiction Research Association. There are interviews, podcasts, and plans for teachers including reading guides and sample projects. The reading guides actually make great summer reading lists for yourself or your kids.

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Travel Week: The Best of GeekMom

Image: Sarah Pinault

The GeekMoms have been writing about travel on and off since we began way back in 2010. As this week’s focus is on travel, here are the many discussions we had while you were reading other, less interesting websites!

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Get Your Girls Into Game Design

Jane McGonigal

Jane McGonigal at SXSW – Photo by Marziah Karch

Let your girls play more video games. That is, if you want them to grow up to be rock star game designers like Jane McGonigal. Yes, we can enjoy games like Half Life and Angry Birds Space, but games and gaming techniques can go beyond the entertaining app or console title and be used to educate ourselves and influence real world behaviors. Besides, there’s good money in a career in game design. Now that women are such heavy video game players, it’s time we started being video game designers and developers, too.

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GeekMom: Comic Book Corner — July 4th, 2012

Masters of the Universe / Image: Copyright DC Comics

Masters of the Universe / Image: Copyright DC Comics

Happy Comic Release Day! Welcome to another installment of GeekMom Comic Book Corner, where we recap our adventures in comics for the week.

Corrina Lawson 

“This ain’t no reboot, it’s a new beginning!” That’s Marvel Comics Editor-in-Chief Axel Alonso’s take in the current issue of Entertainment Weekly on the “Marvel Now” initiative for the Marvel superhero universe.

Beginning in October, creative teams between the X-Men and Avengers franchises are being shuffled around, with Rich Remender taking on Uncanny Avengers, which will have a mix of mutant and Avengers characters, Jonathan Hickman taking over Avengers, which will feature up to eighteen characters and will be published biweekly, and finally, All-New X-Men will be written by Brian Michael Bendis, the writer who turned Avengers into a multi-title franchise for Marvel.

But the big news is the return of a character whose code name means rebirth. Jean Grey (Phoenix) is back. According to the Entertainment Weekly article, the original five teenage X-Men will time travel to the present day. So, technically, Jean Grey isn’t back from the dead this time. Just fast-forwarding a bit.

Dakster Sullivan – A look at DC Comics: Masters of the Universe Issue #1

He-Man and the Masters of the Universe have found their way back into comic books. Since I’m only familiar with the TV show from 2002, I’ve been looking forward to issue #1 since it was announced back in April.

According to DC Comics, the story focuses on Skeletor going back in time to change the course of history in Eternia. Now, Skeletor rules from Castle Greyskull and the Masters have no memory of their former lives (it kind of reminds me of Cinderella 3). Instead of being a prince, Adam is now a simple woodsman who dreams of being a heroic warrior with a powerful sword.

In issue #1, We meet Sir Laser Lot and his connection with the power known as the Gem of Talmadge. Before we can learn to much more, we see a mystic power take Sir Laser Lot and the Skull to the doorstep of Skeletor and his crew.

This issue was very short and to the point.

The art is beautiful and exactly how I hoped it would look. With the exception of Evil-Lyn, they all look pretty much how they did in the most recent animated series.

I’m looking forward to see how history will change and how Adam will get the Masters of the Universe together to save Eternia.

Since I have only read issue 1, I can’t give an accurate age suggestion on this series. Stay tuned.

Kay Moore – My Comic Book Experiences so Far

My sister GeekMoms have been sharing all about their comic books for weeks in previous Comic Book Corners, and they inspired me to check out the available comic books. I have only begun a few stories, mostly from independent or small houses, not so much Marvel and DC, not the traditional superhero stories. I have been choosing samples and early issues based on a combination of the look of the artwork, a tempting story synopsis, and de-emphasis on gore. I am also interested in female-oriented stories and creative plays on mythology and fantasy. Plus, on the advice of GeekMom Corrina I bought a run of Catwoman by Ed Brubaker, but I am going to try to read it slowly.

I thoroughly enjoyed my introduction to MOUSE GUARD, which reminded me (and my kids) of the children’s story series Redwall by Brian Jacques and the Beatrix Potter illustrated stories. The artwork is detailed and lovely while the story is contained and miniaturized, like the mice who live it. This is the tale of three swashbuckling mice who protect the small scattered populations of mice in the dangerous world of predators and large dangers, and the discovery of treason in the very midst of the Mouse Guard. So far I’ve read the stories in the Fall 1152 collection and this is a wonderful collection for parents and children to share.

Elephantmen looks like it has more violence and blood than I generally look for—the main character (Ebony the Elephantman) is either an ex-soldier or a shadowy Bourne-Identity type of fellow; I am not clear yet—it is so intriguing that I am going to follow along and enjoy the worldview and characterization and distinctive art until the violence scares me away. The genre is hard to classify so far—fantasy anthropomorphic elephants in the 23rd century, living in a somewhat dystopian, Blade-Runnerian world with betrayals and wars and paranoia but also intriguing visuals and concepts and characterizations.

This first issue introduces Ebony, a human-elephant GM (genetic modified) in a world where the genetic modifieds are commodities for war machines. He is now an apparent drifter in a soulless metropolis, where a little girl, momentarily free from her parents, befriends him. This issue establishes the character and the world, which is a pretty enticing accomplishment. Elephantmen displays the most complicated and sophisticated artwork of the issues I’ve discussed, and it is darker than the others, but it is engaging and keeps your eye busy in every panel. The style is distinct, creating the world and helping it to linger in your mind long after you stop reading.

Catwoman #1 (2002-2008) - Apparently Selina Kyle/Catwoman suffered some kind of injury, rehab, and sabbatical from superheroing in previous issues (this is part of the DC Universe: Blackest Night story arc… but in this issue she visits her therapist and cogitates how to get her kitty mojo back. The story in this single issue is simple so far but still manages to focus on relationships. I like the artwork in this 28-series run: uncomplicated and clean, a little retro, not as busy as many of the ambitious and tortuous comic book art styles I see my kids reading.

Looking for something else, readers? Check out this week’s listed books:

 
Action Comics #11 CP
Animal Man #11
Batman And Robin Vol. 1 Born To Kill HC
Batman Earth One HC
Batwing #11
Before Watchmen Ozymandias #1 CP
Detective Comics #11 CP
Dial H #3
Earth 2 #3
Fables Vol. 17 Inherit The Wind TP
Fairest #5
G.I. Combat #3
Green Arrow #11
Green Lantern Emerald Warriors Vol. 1 TP
He-Man And The Masters Of The Universe #1 (Of 6)
I Zombie #27
Justice League International #11
Night Force #5 (Of 7)
Red Lanterns #11
Scooby-Doo Where Are You #23
Showcase Presents Showcase Vol. 1 TP
Smallville Season 11 #3
Stormwatch #11
Suicide Squad Vol. 1 Kicked In The Teeth TP
Sweet Tooth #35
Wonder Woman The Twelve Labors TP
Worlds’ Finest #3		 Age Of Apocalypse #5
Amazing Spider-Man #689
Avengers Assemble Vol. 4 TP
Avengers Vs X-Men #7 (Of 12)
Avengers West Coast Avengers Zodiac Attack HC PE
Deadpool #57
Fury MAX #4
Halo Fall Of Reach Invasion HC PE
Hulk #55
Hulk Heart Of The Atom TP
Infernal Man-Thing #1 (Of 3)
Invincible Iron Man #520
Marvel Super Heroes #2
Muppets #1 (Of 4)
Punisher #13
Punisher By Rick Remender Omnibus HC
Secret Warriors Omnibus HC
Spider-Man Return Of The Burglar HC PE
Ultimate Comics Spider-Man #12
Uncanny X-Men #15
Wolverine #310
X-Factor #239
X-Men Beauty And The Beast HC PE


Cape 1969 #1 (Of 4)
Convention Sketchbook HC
Danger Girl Danger Sized Treasury Edition Vol. 2 TP
Doctor Who Classics Series 4 #6 (Of 6)
Dorothy Of Oz Prequel #3 (Of 4)
G.I. JOE A Real American Hero #180
G.I. JOE Cobra Command Vol. 2 TP
Infestation 2 Vol. 2 TP
Popeye #3
Rocketeer Adventures 2 #4 (Of 4)
Star Trek Legion Of Super-Heroes HC
Transformers Robots In Disguise #7		 Buffy The Vampire Slayer Season 9 Vol. 1 Freefall TP
Crime Does Not Pay Archives Vol. 2 HC
Freaks Of The Heartland HC
Mike Norton’s Battlepug Vol. 1 HC
Mind MGMT #2
Orchid #8
Tarzan The Jesse Marsh Years Vol. 11 HC

Acronym Key:  VC = Variant Cover  / HC = Hard Cover / TP = Trade Paperback  / CP = Combo Pack  / PE = Premier Edition

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Travel Week: Thomas Land Part Two — My Toddler’s First Rollercoaster

Thoma Land Measuring Chart

All Pictures: Sarah Pinault

At some point, most toddlers will develop a fascination with Thomas the Tank Engine. (Check out Sophie’s post yesterday for more on Thomas!) For my son Toby, the introduction was the natural progression from my need to buy him books with his name in the title: Toby is a tram engine in the Thomas stories. Then came the wooden toys, the wooden track, the bubble bath, the magazine, the socks and so forth. For me Thomas the Tank Engine evokes the dulcet tones of Ringo Starr, who narrated the series in Britain during my childhood. It brings thoughts of my Great Aunt’s house where my cousins and I played, and the stories my family used to tell about working on the railway. Now it will always make me think of that fateful day in May when we visited Thomas Land in England, the day my baby rode on his first roller coaster.

Thomas Land is a small portion of a larger theme park, in the middle of the British countryside. There are rides suitable for all ages, and after measuring my son and realizing he was the requisite minimum height, off to the Troublesome Trucks he went. Troublesome Trucks is a Stell Gerstlauer roller coaster that has been in place only since March 2008. At its highest it is 18 ft tall, and at 755 ft in length it isn’t a long ride, though you do get two go-arounds of the track for each ride. Its maximum speed is 20.5 mph and, as I quickly found out, that is fast enough for you to lose a baseball cap.

Continue Reading “Travel Week: Thomas Land Part Two — My Toddler’s First Rollercoaster” »

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Geeking Out in Orlando: Animal Kingdom

The Tree of Life at Night © Sophie Brown

The Tree of Life at Night © Sophie Brown

Welcome to my Geeking Out in Orlando mini-series!

Over the next three weeks we will look at the top ten geeky things to do in each of the major theme parks in Orlando and then ask for you to vote on which has the best geeky attractions. To kick start the series we’re heading to Disney’s Animal Kingdom, possibly the least popular of the resort’s four parks but still with plenty to see and do. Animal Kingdom may seem the least geeky of the Orlando theme park, but as much of this list is taken up with animal experiences it’s definitely great for biology nerds. The park will soon be home to a new geeky experience as construction for the Avatar area based on James Cameron’s hit movie is due to begin in 2013.

An owl at Animal Kingdom © Sophie Brown

An owl at Animal Kingdom © Sophie Brown

10. Flights of Wonder

A twenty minute live show featuring dozens of bird species including the American Bald Eagle.  Mixed in with the stunts and “singing” are important messages about conserving these birds and their friends. After most shows the handlers will bring some of the birds to the edge of the stage so you can get an up-close look, ask questions about them and get good photographs.

9. It’s Tough to Be a Bug

This 4D movie/show teaches us about the world beneath our feet, full of creepy crawlies, bugs and spiders. It’s not a good idea for those who don’t like our six and eight-legged friends or those afraid of loud noises as it’s a very immersive experience, but kids often love seeing the CG bug characters appearing huge on screen before them and the in-room technology is brilliant at bringing the show to life. Make sure to take a look at the posters in the waiting area.

8. Finding Nemo: The Musical

It shouldn’t work, but it my opinion it does. Finding Nemo is one of my favourite Pixar movies and it’s story of letting go of our little ones really speaks to us as parents. Musicals aren’t to everyone’s taste but the puppets are spectacular and the sets are worth the thirty minute show.

7. Animal Trails

Live animal experiences are what this park is founded on, and there are several walking trails scattered throughout. The Discovery Island trails wind around the base of the Tree of Life and feature mostly birds alongside kangaroos, otters, deer and more. The Pangani Forest Exploration Trail is located in Africa and features African animals including hippos, meerkats and gorillas. Finally the Maharajah Jungle Trek is found in Asia and includes gibbons, fruit bats, Komodo Dragons and tigers. All the trails feature boards where you can learn about the animals you are seeing and often staff are on hand talking about them and answering questions.

Me on Primeval Whirl © Scott Brown

Me on Primeval Whirl © Scott Brown

6. Primeval Whirl

The first actual ride on the list, Primeval Whirl is a rollercoaster that begins with you travelling back in time to the time an asteroid hit and wiped out the dinosaurs. It’s a wild mouse type coaster that spins the ride vehicles around randomly on the track meaning you can end up going down drops facing backwards, sideways or any way. The whole thing is brightly coloured with cartoonish cardboard dinosaurs running away from smoking meteors; just leave the hard science at home.

5. Kilimanjaro Safaris

One of the park’s signature attractions, this ride takes you on a safari through the 100 acres of African savannah recreated in Orlando. On your journey you might see lions, hippos, giraffes and much more but although the jeeps are driven freely (they don’t follow a track) your driver will not stop for photo opportunities, but on one trip we got lucky as a giraffe walked in front of us, forcing us to stop for a few minutes until the road was clear. There is a poaching plot to the ride but most people tune it out after their first ride and focus on animal spotting instead. Continue Reading “Geeking Out in Orlando: Animal Kingdom” »

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Travel Week: Geology Rocks at Hawaii Volcanoes National Park

Hawaii Volcanoes National Park

NPS photo courtesy of Jessica Ferracane

Who among us doesn’t remember chanting, “igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic” during our grammar school geology sessions? Or holding those same  types of rocks in hand as the teacher passed them around?

While I don’t expect a trip to Hawaii to be in most classroom budgets, for families traveling to Hawaii Island, it’s a chance to delve into geology right at the source. At Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, visitors can see where new rock is made, 24/7. Kilauea Volcano has erupted almost continuously since 1983 and the volcano produces an estimated 250,000-650,000 cubic yards of lava per day. That’s enough to resurface a 20-mile long, two lane road daily. But we’re not talking explosive lava. While there were a number of lava fountains visible in the eighties, these days Madame Pele is content to send her fiery lava down the mountain via underground lava tubes or surface flows. Sporadic “break outs” allow visitors to see the actual flow as it moves down the mountainside and – sometimes – into the ocean.

Lava flowing into ocean at dusk

Lava flowing into ocean at dusk (Photo: Kris Bordessa)

We were fortunate enough to catch an ocean entry a number of years ago. Hiking over rough ground, the product of a previous flow, we were a bit disappointed that we couldn’t access the flowing red lava up close. During the daylight hours, there wasn’t much to see, other than plumes of steam where the hot lava flowed into the cool water. But, whoa, as the sun set! The coastline lit up with an orange glow and small explosions – the result of hot meeting cold – burst in a natural fireworks display. The mountain above us, which had earlier looked as innocuous as any other mountain, glowed with the lava making its way downhill under a crust of newly formed rock.

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HMDX Jam Portable Wireless Bluetooth Speaker

Jam Wireless Portable Speaker, Image: HMDX

The Jam Wireless Portable Speaker from HMDX Audio is a new entry in the wireless speaker market with a very attractive price of just $39.99. It comes creatively packaged in a little plastic jam jar and doesn’t come in colors, but in flavors. You can buy an HMDX Jam in Strawberry, Grape, Blueberry, Blackberry, Apricot, or Apple.

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What Finding the Higgs Boson Means

The LHC image from CERN

Speculation is building in the international physics community about the contents of a press conference that has been called by scientists at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), to be held at 9am Geneva time (3am EST) on July 4, 2012. Peter Higgs himself is flying to attend the press conference.

Physicists expect that the announcement will be positive proof of the Higgs boson particle and a successful mission for the team. The anticipation reached a frenzied state yesterday when scientists from the Tevatron at Fermilab in Illinois announced that they had found significant supporting evidence for the existence of the Higgs boson.

So, you might be asking what’s so important about finding the Higgs boson?

The short answer is that the Higgs boson can account for all of the unexplained mass in the universe.

Read More:

Watch a Livestream of the Higgs Boson Announcement

Leaked Video Accidentally Announces Higgs Discovery

How Discovery of the Higgs Boson Could Break Physics

Supersymmetry: The Future of Physics Explained

The long answer:

In particle physics, there is a theory called the “Standard Model” that endeavors to explain all electromagnetic and nuclear reactions between particles. The “Standard Model”, derived in the 1970′s, explains that the universe is completely comprised of matter (fermions) and force (bosons). The brilliance of the “Standard Model” is that it has been able to successfully explain nearly all experimental physics.

Particle physics is the study of the individual elements that comprise our universe. As most know, atoms are composed of smaller components; neutrons, electrons and protons. When electrons jump between atoms, new substances are formed, but the nucleus of an atom generally remains unchanged unless it undergoes a nuclear reaction. The  neutron/proton nucleus is also known as a hadron, which is made up of quarks. Quarks come paired in six different varieties; up and down, charm and strange, top and bottom. Quarks can also be classified as first, second, or third generation.

Image via Wikimedia Commons

According to the “Standard Model,” all matter consists of two different types of particles, quarks and leptons (i.e. electrons and neutrinos), held together by bosons. Bosons describe the force between particles.

There are three elementary bosons called gauge bosons; the photon (electromagnetic force), the W and Z boson (the weak force) and the gluons (the strong force). Then there are two additional suspected, yet unobserved, bosons, the Graviton and the Higgs.

The Higgs boson was originally suggested in the 1960′s by British physicist Peter Higgs. Higgs postulated that a particle gains mass by passing through the Higgs field, a combination of an electromagnetic field and a solid. Before the Higgs portion of the “Standard Model,” it was assumed that W and Z bosons interacted with other elementary particles, however, the mass of those bosons was always so large that it unbalanced and broke the “Standard Model”.

Thus, it was postulated that there had to be at least one other particle added to the mass equation, the Higgs boson. Ever since the search as been on to find the elusive Higgs, leading to the construction of the LHC.

The LHC is the world’s largest particle accelerator. Built by the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN), and situated along the border between France and Switzerland. LHC’s sole purpose is to be a platform in which to test particle physics theories. It is run by engineers and scientists from hundreds of universities and laboratories from over a hundred different countries.

One of the main objectives of the LHC, since its conception, is to find the Higgs boson. So how might the Higgs boson have been found? The Higgs boson is known to be unstable, decaying into certain particles based on its expected weight. The scientists designed their particle collision experiments in a way that will emit particles of a particular mass. If the particles within an expected range are more numerous then the collision alone can explain, then the rest of the observed particles are proof of the Higgs boson.

I’m eagerly awaiting the announcement tomorrow. If the scientists at the LHC found proof of the Higgs boson, it would be huge for the scientific community and the future of science as we know it.

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Better Than College

Not another brick in the wall. (blakeboles.com)

Study, get good grades, excel on tests, and stand out in extracurricular activities to get into the right college. Once in college, do it all over again. For generations this has been the highway to success. Now with ballooning student debt and crushing unemployment, other paths beckon with greater allure.

Blake Boles found his own path. This adventurer and entrepreneur runs Unschool Adventures, a travel company for self-directed teens. He maintains a community for self-directed learners called Zero Tuition College. And after years of helping young adults build productive and engaging lives he’s written the handbook Better Than College: How to Build a Successful Life Without a Four-Year Degree. It’s packed with concrete ways to achieve success without college.  Unlike a blueprint, his method will be unique for each person, because it’s self-designed.

  • Advance self-knowledge. Identify and continue to purse your driving interests.
  • Give yourself assignments. Read, investigate, develop and follow-through on projects, do internships, start businesses, and in other ways increase your mastery.
  • Create and share value. Build what others will find valuable and then share. This may include organizing groups, planning events, writing, coding, filming, and selling your work.
  • Find support. Seek mentors and friends who will help you navigate your self-directed life. Share your goals with them and ask that they keep you accountable.
  • Market yourself. Build an expansive portfolio, develop a strong network, and learn how to land jobs through creative means.

Check out this thought experiment. The average family spends about $20,000 per year to put a young person through college. Blake asks, how could that money be used differently to achieve a higher education?

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Find out more about the book at Better Than College. And to help you create success on your own terms, with or without college. check out nearly two dozen other tools. It may be the right time to consider a new path.

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Travel Week: Universal Studios Cinematic Spectacular — 100 Years of Movie Memories

YouTube Preview Image

Recently, I was given the opportunity to check out Universal Orlando’s latest nighttime show. I’ve never seen an evening show at the park before, so I was looking forward to the experience. My past experience with nighttime shows at Disney, however, had me anticipating a crowd and long wait for a good seat. To my surprise, that wasn’t the case at all. Unlike the shows at other Orlando theme parks, there are multiple locations along the water front that you can view the show and still have a front row experience.

The Universal Cinematic Spectacular: 100 Years of Movie Memories is a nighttime lagoon show that features some of Universal’s most iconic film moments. The show is projected onto state-of-the-art water curtain technology and is surrounded by colorful fountains and amazing pyrotechnics.

As Mother Nature’s lights started to dim, the water screen started to come alive. Lights… Camera… Action! The show began.

The first thing I couldn’t help but notice was the narration given by Academy Award winning actor, Morgan Freeman. I don’t think they could have made a better choice. As soon as it started, my son couldn’t take his eyes off the water screen. We were all taken back by the pyrotechnics that shot off not only from the lagoon, but also all around us from various locations in the park.

In addition to viewing the show, I was given the opportunity to interview one of the individuals behind the show’s creation, Micheal Aiello. Since 2003, Mr. Aiello has had a major role in the Universal Orlando Halloween Horror Night event. He’s been responsible for writing and directing the extremely popular “Bill and Ted’s Excellent Halloween Adventure” as well as working with New Line Cinema to co-create content based on A Nightmare on Elm Street, Friday the 13th and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre as well as Universal Pictures’ The Thing.  He is also responsible for overseeing the concept and development for the entertainment elements within The Wizarding World of Harry Potter.

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A Day at Drayton Manor and Thomas Land

My Family in Thomas Land © Annie Walker

My Family in Thomas Land © Annie Walker

As a family we’re big theme park fans. My hubby and I went on honeymoon to Orlando. He has visited Walt Disney World more times than he can count despite the transatlantic flights involved, and we’ve both travelled to multiple Disney parks around the world. Whilst we’re big Disney fans, living in the UK means visiting those parks isn’t financially viable much of the time, so we tend to visit more local parks. Last week our family had the chance to visit Drayton Manor, one of the UK’s many theme parks.

Drayton Manor is billed as a family park and is the UK home of Thomas Land (another Thomas-themed park is located in Japan). With a train-obsessed two-year-old boy in our house this was obviously the park to go for this time.

Let’s start by saying this, I really loved Drayton Manor. It’s by far the best theme park I have visited in this country. The whole place is clean, freshly-painted and spacious without feeling sparse. The balance of rides was perfect for our group, with a handful of extreme thrill-rides that included some of the most innovative rides in the country and a good selection of rides for little kids but the majority of attractions were suitable for everyone to ride together. It had that vibe that Walt Disney discussed when he talked about Disneyland: a place “where parents and children could have fun — together.”

Thomas pulling out of Knapford Station © Scott Brown

Thomas pulling out of Knapford Station © Scott Brown

We began our day in Thomas Land, which is naturally home to all the little kid rides. Nearly all the rides in this area are suitable for any age and height provided an adult rides too. My son has a tendency to be very nervous for the first hour or so at a theme park and it did take us a while (and some bribery) to convince him to try out the first few rides, but once he got into the swing of things he wanted to give nearly everything a try. We flew in Jeremy the Jet, spun around with Diesel and (later on in the day) even rode the Troublesome Trucks roller coaster, an incredibly fast mini coaster especially considering the tiny 90 cm height restriction. On my first try of it (without my son as I was proving to him that it was OK) I found myself wondering “This is for kids, really?!” But when he took a trip later he was totally non-plussed by the experience. The centerpiece of Thomas Land is Knapford Station, where an almost full-scale train takes you on a trip to another section of the park. We rode to this section which is home to part of the Drayton Manor Zoo and the Dino Trail with Rosie — a small pink engine. My only negative about the train ride is the limited amount of space for strollers and wheelchairs, which surprised us in an area aimed at pre-schoolers and their families. After returning on board Thomas (Rosie and Thomas alternate their trips) we had lunch at the chicken restaurant located in the main thrill ride section of the park. The food was KFC style but much, much nicer. We were all highly impressed by the quality of the chicken strips which were not at all greasy or wet- – in fact between three adults and a two year old we polished off the full 12-strip meal deal, not bad considering we all admit to having tiny appetites.

Continue Reading “A Day at Drayton Manor and Thomas Land” »

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Travel Week: Tips for a Stress-Free Road Trip With Small Kids

Image: Mandy Horetski

The idea of taking a long car trip with young kids might make some parents nervous. I was lucky because my daughter has always tolerated long road trips well. While this could be partly because of her temperament, I do think some of the things we did when she was very small helped her be a good traveler.

My first tip would be to start early. My daughter went on her first road trip when she was very small. Our closest family lives several hours away, so we started with that short trip. But when she was eight months old, we made the big trip up to Michigan, which was a 13 hour trip. I was a little worried but my daughter did great. I think those earlier, shorter trips really helped.

Another tip is to make lots of stops. We tend to travel in the summer, so my husband bought a cooler that was powered through the cigarette lighter outlet in our car. So we could stop at rest stops instead of fast food places. We were able to have a decent meal of sandwiches as well as giving my daughter a change to run around and play out of the car for a little while. When we travel in the winter, we try to find restaurants that have play areas to let her play a bit during the trip.

And finally, toys and books are necessary for long car trips. My daughter has a great ability for keeping herself amused when we take road trips, but I always pack her a bag with extra toys and books. I try and get her something new for the really long trips to help keep her occupied. With all of these tips, we have been able to take many stress-free road trips with my three year old daughter.

Do you have any good road trip tips when traveling with kids?

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Alpha Colony Kickstarter Footnote Hints At Transphobia

Alpha Colony Kickstarter project

Alpha Colony Kickstarter project

A recent article at Border House highlights the transgender issues of a current Kickstarter campaign for Alpha Colony. Meant as a tribute to the late Danielle Bunten Berry, a video game pioneer formely known as Dan Bunten, the new video game license granted by Dani’s family comes with the footnote “*Dan Bunten was the creator of the original M.U.L.E. game in 1983 and the family would prefer that we refer to him as Dan instead of Dani.”

As the article points out, Dani “suffered through being treated like a second class citizen, and even talked about how her family and old friends abandoned her as a result of her transition, making access to her children more difficult.” I am deeply saddened that Dani’s family could not accept their child’s true identity.

I have known people who didn’t like their first name and struggled for years to get their family and friends on board with using a new name more to their liking. While much more trivial in nature, it does depict how difficult it is to accept a person’s new identity. I can understand Dani’s family’s struggle over raising a son and burying a daughter, but that’s not an excuse disrespecting a person’s wishes after death.

Please note that the views of the family does not represent the views of the development team. This Kickstarter project is a lovely tribute to Danielle’s contribution to the video game industry and the developers are doing their best to build the game Danielle wished before her death.

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tINDIE: Like Etsy For Electronic Tinkerers

tINDIE, etsy for tinkerers,

Angry Bird-playing robot offered on tINDIE.com

If you’ve ever dreamed of an Etsy-like site for electronics tinkerers, it’s here.

Two months ago Emile Petrone put up a market research post on Reddit to explore an idea.

I thought of an Arduino/homemade tech marketplace where people could sell the things they build. As an engineer that has been watching Arduino and open source hardware from the sidelines, it seems like there isn’t a place for people to sell what they make (something I think would raise awareness of the platform & support the tinkers on the front lines).

Basically this would be a place to sell your homemade guitar pedal, pet feeder – any thing really. Sure there are sites to share plans, but there are more people (I think) that are interested in the platforms and gadgets but aren’t necessarily builders.

The site, called tINDIE, is now live. Excitement is warranted.

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Hex Laptop Tote Carries Your Tech in Style

Hex Fleet Tote, Image: Hex

It seems that during the summer months I am constantly packing and unpacking bags of stuff. There are trips to the beach or pool, afternoon picnics with friends and spur-of-the-moment drives to all kinds of fun destinations. As I pack up the sunscreen and towels and whatever else the kids need, I’m often stuck trying to find an easy way to bring my laptop for those times when I need to get a little work done. The Hex Tote is a wonderful way to carry everything together.

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Get Ready for The Children’s Republic of Shoreditch


In just two days, on July 4, 2012, a group of kids will take over an area of London. They will rename it The Children’s Republic of Shoreditch. There will be passports, an embassy, and many cabinet positions. Local people will be able to visit and learn about this new, independent country. Learn more from this video they put together. Unfortunately, I am thousands of miles away from there, in the western portion of the United States. But if anyone closer by has a chance to visit, please report back in the comments! I’d love to know what this newest country is like.

Thanks to Neil Gaiman’s retweet of this tweet to make me, and now all of you, aware of this important development.

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A Singing Tribute to Independence Day: 1776

Photo: Columbia Pictures

Looking at the weather forecast for this week, it’s becoming abundantly clear that, at least here in central North Carolina, running around outside is not going to be an option for the 4th of July. We just got through a weekend of 100 degree plus temperatures, and are heading into another sweltering week. So unless we strap icepacks to our extremities and roll around in SPF, we’re going to have to figure out another option.

But that reminds me of one of my favorite yearly 4th of July traditions that is perfectly suited to this weather: watching the film based on the eponymous musical, 1776 (The Guardian’s take: “Far too long and mostly terrible, but hilarious.” But keep in mind, that’s a British publication — they want you to hate it!). Sure, there’s always Independence Day, or The Patriot, but why go for world-destroying aliens and Mel Gibson with a ponytail when you can have (the far more family-friendly) Mr. Feeny from Boy Meets World as that most famous founding father from Massachusetts, John Adams? Singing, no less. In costume. (IMO, he gives Paul Giamatti a run for his money.)

I am not ashamed to admit that it was a viewing of this very film somewhere around 1990 or so that really got me excited about American history. Up until that point, it didn’t feel very interesting. You know, just lots of guys in wigs signing papers and tossing tea into Boston Harbor, and something about taxes. But suddenly, there were John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, and Thomas Jefferson arguing (in song) about which bird should be the symbol of America (for the record, I’m with Franklin; a turkey would have been awesome). I couldn’t resist. I was so inspired that I even did an elaborate drawing of the Second Continental Congress much to my mother’s befuddlement. With those infectious songs about saltpeter, Virigian lineages, and cranky Congressmen, who wouldn’t be so moved?

(I should also mention that I came away with a rather impressive crush on Thomas Jefferson, he of the very cute violin playing and russet locks.)

YouTube Preview Image

While I was in college, I had the pleasure of seeing the live show, which is quite excellent (and doesn’t suffer from painful 1970s inspired hairdos — why is it that no matter how accurate a film is, costume wise, the hairstyles always date the film to the time of production?). Anyway, while the movie is special in its own way, the performance was really an experience (in a good way). If you happen to have the chance to see the stage production, please do! They even have a website.

However, if you aren’t in luck and can’t see a live production, fret not! TCM is having a showing on July 4th. And also, there is (yes) a director’s cut available instantly on Amazon. Seriously, no excuses, people. This is practically required viewing*. I’m sorry to hear that I entirely missed a staged production with an entirely female cast that played in 2010.

* Though, um, probably not a good film/musical to watch in preparation for your next American History exam. There are some slight deviations from historical fact.

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Kickstarter: Hone Means No More Searching For Keys

Image: Hone

There’s nothing quite as frustrating as getting ready to leave the house in the morning and not being able to find your keys. This is usually more likely to happen on a day when you’re already running late or you overslept and can’t see straight, or your kids are missing a shoe or a glove or their school bags. It’s one of those moments of parenting hell that we’ve all endured. Lucky for all of us, the days of searching the house for our keys are soon to disappear thanks to the folks behind Hone.

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Why GeekMom Exists

GeekMom, female geeks, Felicia Day

So. Why is there both GeekMom and GeekDad? Wouldn’t it be better to just have one Geek Parenting blog?

It’s a question that has come up more than a few times since we started the GeekMom blog, and more frequently since we’ve moved to Wired.com two months ago. The easy answer that while we strive for equality in parenting, Moms and Dads still tend to parent differently. Moms still, statistically, take on parenting full-time more often than Dads, and even Moms who keep an outside job tend to do a higher share of the day-to-day parenting (though it is changing).

So, in most cases, the challenges of parenting tend to be different for men and women. That means a GeekMom is likely going to have a different focus than a GeekDad.

For example, in the first GeekDad book by our wonderful publisher, Ken Denmead, there were a great number of awesome projects that I would likely never attempt simply because the day-to-day stuff with the kids keeps me too busy. When the editors of GeekMom put together The GeekMom Book, we wanted to include not only more involved projects but also day-to-day and spur of the moment activities that don’t require a lot of pre-planning.

But while that answer is a good one, it’s a also little too easy and simplistic. The more complicated answer is some amalgam of the fact that being geeky is seen differently in women, and that as such we encounter some unique challenges in our society.

How differently? To use an example, there’s this weekend’s dust-up on Twitter caused by a now-former writer for Destructoid.com criticizing Felicia Day as “nothing more than a glorified booth babe.” The upside is that this notion was quickly smacked down by Day’s fans, including Wil Wheaton. I suppose another upside is that Destructoid.com issued an apology and have apparently fired the writer involved, Ryan Pereze.

This is part of the reason GeekMom exists.

The “glorified booth babe” insult goes right to the heart of the difficulties that geek girls and women encounter while striving to be taken seriously in traditionally male geeky circles like comics, gaming and science. It reduced Day to nothing more than her looks, nothing more than a pretty girl who’s only been able to accomplish what she has because geek guys find her attractive.

This is not the kind of insult one finds thrown at men. That there are few booth “dudes” is part of it. Women tend to be inherently sexualized in public discourse in our society.

Once on the GeekDad writer’s list, when we were comparing various insults received from various controversial articles, I shut down discussion (and won, I guess) by revealing that I’d been told to go back to licking someone’s twat on Twitter over an article I wrote. No, it appears none of the men had been told anything nearly that degrading or, more to the point, that sexually-tinged.

Did it bother me? No, not in the sense I went to my room crying, or that it even bugged me for more than five minutes. I ignored the  insult and moved onto whatever next needed to be done that day. But it did bother me in the sense that it’s definitely part of a pattern of sexually-tinged insults (like, oh, being called a glorified booth babe) that are directed at female bloggers. That overall pattern does bother me. Even threats of rape are sadly too common.

And, more than that, the comment directed at Day also highlights another issue: geek girls and women are frequently challenged on their “geek cred” by men. As if their gender somehow makes them more suspect to the male geek community. The underlying thought is “Um, really? SHE can be a geek?”

This despite the underlying evidence such as forty percent of The Avengers audience being comprised of women, or that 40 percent of World of Warcraft gamers are women, or that women have made up 30-40 percent of the San Diego Comic Con audience over the last few years. In an interview this week, the Women Who Write About Comics blog asked me if I thought the women needed spaces of their own on the internet. I said “yes, absolutely.”

GeekMom exists in a large part to shout to the general world that yes, there are geeky women, and, yes, they are also moms, and yes, there are many of us. We have a unique geek experience , and that’s why we’re here.

And why we will no longer be invisible.

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