I recently received Secret Science by Steve Spangler. I finally got some time to try out the Floating Ping-Pong Balls and Flying Toilet Paper experiment with Jackson and Charlie. They can barely say Bernoulli, but really got a kick out of floating balls and various toys with a leaf blower. We even go a Mr. Potato Head to float! They do not fully understand the principles, but it sure gets them excited about science and experiments.
I can’t wait for our next experiment.
Boxers, Bearded Dragons, Hermit Crabs, Fish and Chameleons, Oh My!
I had an outstanding Christmas this year, but my household got a bit more crowded. As you have probably seen on previous posts, I have a 7yr old Boxer named Mesi and then added a juvenile Bearded Dragon named Leo (really Leonardo de Pisa a.k.a. Fibonacci). This year Santa brought my younger son Charlie 7 fish. He also brought my older son, Jackson two hermit crabs. The holiday was topped off with us bringing home my wife’s birthday gift, a veiled chameleon named Darwin (Charles Darwin).
Our home is now a desert, rainforest, beach and tropical sea. We are learning so much about habitats, reptiles and pets in general. Our house was hectic with a 3yr old, 4yr old and a boxer, now it is a zoo. Awesome!
My wife turned me on to Steve Spangler through his guest appearances on the Ellen Show. He has some great, fun science experiments and toys like Smoke Rings a.k.a. Air Bazooka and Walking on Water (really corn starch goo). It is worth some time to check out all of his videos.
Steve has released his “Top 25 Holiday Gift Ideas – Educational Toys with a High Wow Factor” Some great ideas for all ages, too bad we are almost done with our Christmas shopping. If you like those gift ideas, you might want to also check out his Top 10 Under $10.
Categories: Family · Holiday · Just For Fun
I was a few years behind the first release of Harry Potter. I am glad my wife turned me on to the first book and I am proud to say I have completed the saga. I was very impressed with the ending; it made all 7 books worthwhile. Now I can get on with some other reading, next up Alice Cooper, Golf Monster.
Mostly I cannot wait until my boys are old enough, so I can start over!
BTW, this was posted with Blogo. At first glance, it is a well written blog client. I will give it a fair chance.
Categories: Family · Just For Fun
Goals and dreams are very important in business and life. I am 30 years old, but wanted to start thinking about life goals. Some of mine are quite simple, others can take a life time.
The idea of a bucket list is quite morbid; making a list of things to do before you die. It is almost as sinister as life insurance. Bucket Lists were made famous by the movie of the same name. Morgan Freemen and Jack Nicholson were both diagnosed with terminal illnesses. They decided to make a list of things they wanted to do before they “kick the bucket.” Their list was rather extravagant so it helped that Jack’s character was a millionaire. Some of my goals require money, some are very simple, others will take years and some luck.
Some of the most popular items I found on Bucket Lists were the Smithsonian Life List and the Time All-Time 100 Novels. I also found a wiki devoted to Bucket Lists at http://bucketlists.wetpaint.com/. Finally there is a site where you can post your Life List and see how many other people have the same ambitions. The site is called 43Things. 43Things is a typical social networking site where you can share your goals, see who has common goals and browse other people’s goals.
My Bucket List can be found at http://www.43things.com/person/mradomski. There are only 15 items as of today, but I am sure it will grow over time. What do you want to accomplish before you kick the bucket?
Categories: Family · Just For Fun · Motivation · Shoot For The Middle · Think About It
Did you every want to be “THAT” guy at a party? You know, the guy that everyone talks about the next day. Not because you woke up on the couch of a hotel lobby or vomited into a dozen garbage cans on your way home, but because you were the life of the party. I found a couple of websites that will help you become a beer expert (wine experts can be a turn off), entertainer and philosopher at your next gathering.
Become a beer expert, I know you are already an enthusiast! The first site is called RateBeer.
RateBeer is widely recognized as the most accurate and most-visited source for beer information. RateBeer is an independent world site for craft beer enthusiasts and is dedicated to serving the entire craft beer community through beer education, promotion and outreach.
On RateBeer you view the top beers, learn how to rate beer and search for top beer in your area. It is nice to see some NYS beers in the top sections.
The next site that will help you be “THAT” guy is called EasyBarTricks.com. This site has everything you need to amaze your drunk and sober friends alike. All of the tricks are demonstrated via short videos. Knowing some of these tricks might make you some money or get you beat up.
And finally, when the night is wearing thin, you can become a philosopher. I have always liked the metaphor of Life and a Can of Beer.
A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him. When the
class began, wordlessly, he picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls. He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was. So the professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls. He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed… Read the rest.
It’s June, the weather is finally turning the corner, make your summer count!
Categories: Family · Just For Fun · Shoot For The Middle · Think About It
The co-founder of Animoto was a featured guest on Net@night this week.
Animoto is a web application that automatically generates professionally produced videos using patent-pending Cinematic Artificial Intelligence technology and high-end motion design. Each video is a fully customized orchestration of user-selected images and music. Produced in widescreen format, Animoto videos have the visual energy of a music video and the emotional impact of a movie trailer.
It is soooo easy to use and produces unique, professional videos with just a few clicks. Try it for yourself, 30-second videos are free. Below is a video I created for my son’s first day of pre-school. It took me about 45 seconds to upload pictures and pick my music, the rest was VooDoo.
Categories: Art · Family · Parenting · Technology · Web 2.0
We have all received raises at some point, hopefully. It always seems that we live into our means.
Living by the 90% Rule Can Lead You to Happiness.
One basic rule that will almost certainly guarantee your financial success, thereby leading you to greater personal happiness, is the 90% rule. Simply put, you live on 90% of your income, and save the other ten percent.
The best way I have found to save money is with direct deposit into an account that you rarely look at. I have one through my investment company and one through my credit union. I look at the balance every 6 months, but put money into each account, every paycheck. A wise man once told me to put 1/2 of every pay increase into retirement.
I still do not think I will hit my goal of retiring at 40 to have 10 years to practice for the Champions Tour.
Categories: Family · Shoot For The Middle
I have been using Facebook for some time now. It is a great platform to keep in touch with friends and family, and reconnect with those that have been distant. I am making a point to try to stay up to date with friends and connect with some new people. It was one of my New Year’s resolutions.
Every week I listen to the TWIT podcasts and hear how much fun, how useful and what a general time killer Twitter is.
What is it?
Twitter is a service for friends, family, and co–workers to communicate and stay connected through the exchange of quick, frequent answers to one simple question: What are you doing? Bloggers can use it as a mini-blogging tool.
So if you want to friend me, join me on Facebook and Twitter.
Categories: Family · Just For Fun · Productivity
The Library of Congress invites you to explore history visually by looking at interesting photos from our collections.
The Library of Congress has about 3000 photos on Flickr from the 1910s and 1930s-40s. There are some really interesting pictures from these periods in history. Hopefully the Library of Congress will release more photos over time.
Categories: Entertainment · Family · Just For Fun
