Geekling Hatchery

The Care and Feeding of Your Geekling

  • Home
  • About

12

Aug

An Environment of Satisfied Curiosity

Posted by MisterBixby  Published in Family, Internet, Living in the Future, Media, Parenting Philosphy

I know it has been a long time since I have posted. Personal issues have gotten in the way. BatMom and I are divorcing, which brings its own set of parenting challenges, but it did, inadvertently lead to tonight’s experience.

I have been reading Lana and Lois Charlotte’s Web off and on for several months (we take many breaks from it so that they can read on their own at bedtime or have different stories read to them). We are nearly finished, only two chapters to go. We stopped there tonight because we only had time for one chapter and I didn’t want the spider’s death to be the last thing they heard before they went to bed.

After I closed the book, we looked back through to see what words Charlotte had written (Some Pig, Terrific, Radiant and Humble). There was some question of whether Terrific was in the book since Lana didn’t remember it and had just seen it in the live-action movie adaptation. Lois asked me what Humble and Radiant meant.

When BatMom and I lived together, we had a small pocket dictionary that we often used when such questions arose. A few years back, we had picked up the New Webster’s 1924 dictionary, one of those giant beasts that generally reside on a pedestal stand, for a mere $3 from the local library’s used book sale. BatMom took the pocket dictionary with her, as she had had it since college.

Left with no other options (I don’t like using the internet for definitions with the kids because navigating a dictionary is a useful skill to have), I pulled out the beast and looked up Radiant (having the girls talk me through each letter as we located it). We determined that of the noun and adjective versions, we were looking for the adjective because, as Lois said, “it describes something.” We decided that Wilbur didn’t emit beams of light as in the first sense, but he did beam with vitality and happiness as in the second sense.

I had Lana look up Humble and we decided that Wilbur is, in fact, of low opinion of himself, and not boastful, as in the first sense, at least when there aren’t people around and he has to try to live up to Charlotte’s descriptions. In addition, he’s also “low to the ground” because, in Lana’s words, “he’s short.”

Then, for fun, I pointed out that the dictionary was from 1924. One of the first pages is the Arms of the British Empire and Her Colonies. I read off some of the names of those colonies (“Hey, those are Australian states!” – Lana had an Australia unit in class last year) and pointed out that many of the others were the provinces of Canada. I then had to explain the concept of a colony. I asked Lana if Australia was a colony or its own country. She replied “It’s a country” and then I asked about Canada. “I don’t know. I think it’s a country?” So in 1924, neither Australia, nor Canada, were independent countries.

I asked both girls if they had the internet in 1924. They both agreed that the didn’t because they didn’t have computers. I looked up Internet and failed to find it between internecine and interneural. I decided to look up “computer” since that’s why they didn’t have the Internet. Along the way, we came across “circuit” which Lana knew from science class was a component of electricity, electronics and computers. We read that definition and found the proper sense in the last entry.

From this we determined that there was no Internet, but there was electricity in 1924. We moved on toward computer and found compute and computist (“one especially skilled at computation” which was the then-new term for accountant … I guess it didn’t take), but no computer.

I asked about television. They again agreed that there was no television, so we looked it up and went from telephony (my current career) to telfan. Nope, no TV.

Radio? They couldn’t agree on this one. I believe Lana was anti and Lois was pro. So we looked. We ended up on the same page as Radiant, of course, and while radio was there, it was only in the geometric sense. So no radio… I know Tesla and Marconi invented the radio before the turn of the century, but they were not in homes yet, it seems.

How about cars? Cars was there, but it referred to train cars, chariots of war and baskets for transporting lobster and crabs (!!!). Well, how about automobile? Sure enough, there was automobile, and there was an illustration page with many standard models of car of the time (like the Electric Brougham? and the Limosine and the speedster and coupe and touring coupe). They, of course, look nothing like the cars of today.

I pointed out that the dictionary was put together by people to contain all the words that were important for people to know. And if something didn’t exist at the time, it, by extension, wouldn’t be in the dictionary.

“So, there really was no such thing as a lazy day? The kids would HAVE to go outside to play with their friends?”Lana asked.

That one worried me a little…

So after a brief discussion of farm life, and particularly farm life for a young girl, and the much larger family size (“I don’t WANT six more brothers and sisters!”), and why kids WEREN’T lucky to stop going to school in sixth grade, they decided that they were pretty happy to be living now instead of 85 years ago.

Even though they stayed up 40 minutes past bedtime for this, I’m glad of it. It allowed me to recognize fulfilling my and BatMom’s parenting philosophy, which I think is also part of her teaching philosophy: “Create an Environment of Satisfied Curiosity.” I hated being told to stop asking questions when I was a kid. Since this usually came when I reached the limits of my dad’s knowledge on something, I didn’t learn that “I don’t know” is a valid answer. This is information I want my children to have. “I don’t know” is an indicator that you still have more to learn, no matter how smart you are, that you have a new area to explore, that no one knows every answer. This is especially important for Lois to know as she enters Kindergarten this fall.

And it was fun.

And, for the record, I don’t want to live in 1924 either. It’s fun to visit, but I’m thankful to be living in the future!

no comment

1

Apr

April Fool’s Collection 2009

Posted by MisterBixby  Published in Fun stuff, Holiday, Internet, Uncategorized

I’ll be updating the post throughout the day, and please add others you find in the comments or, if you’re a writer here, feel free to edit the post yourself.

Big Players

Google can always be relied on to come up with a good one. This year has a full running theme. Google created CADIE, the Cognitive Autoheuristic Distributed-Intelligence Entit, basically an AI that they let have access to the Internet. She very quickly created her own Blogger blog, Youtube Channel and Google Earth presence. In addition, she now enables Google to provide all kinds of AI-assisted services like GMail AutoPilot (including gChat), Google Docs making lazing your way through that dreaded project all the easier, see the Ocean Floor, and See your favorite websites in 3D (I’m astounded that the Real-Time Anaglyph actually works, and me without my 3D glasses – The ones I printed out seem to be defective). Very well done, Google. Well Done Indeed! I may have missed some of their other, smaller Lab tools. If I find more, I’ll update. UPDATE: I didn’t see this one because I’m not a code monkey: Cadie will help you write your code, although she has a startling predliction for INTERCAL. It’s worth your time to read through the source code and the INTERCAL style guide. Also, she has kindly added Auto-RedEye technology to Picasa. That CADIE sure is helpful! Nothing on Orkut though. Am I missing any more Google products?

UPDATE: CADIE has been updating various bits of Google all day. She got Google Books where she picked out some good ones, Google Knowledge which she took over and only allowed articles on AI and neural nets, and Google Images.  CADIE can also help you remember anything you’ve forgotten with a simple Google Mobile app. Sadly, it seems the world is just not ready for CADIE (numbers don’t lie). She said Goodbye tonight at about 7:00. Her brief but sweet blog tells her whole story. Goodbye CADIE we’ll miss you. (Full CADIEness can be found at Wikipedia, of course).

Fark, ever a leader in Web Snarkery, has a new interface called the New Fark Experience. It’s really a breathtaking sight to behold. Of course, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, so nice of Reddit (Reddigg, rather?) to be one Bold, Web2.0 Iteration behind.

Every year, Thinkgeek comes out with new April 1 products that are at the very least funny, but there’s always at least one that I really want them to find a way to make. This year, it is the Tauntaun sleeping bag. Not only do I want it to be real, I want it in ADULT size! Of course, there would need to be a two-person version so you can dutch oven your mate and make the obligatory “I thought they smelled bad on the OUTSIDE!” joke. The Squeez Bacon, on the other hand, frankly frightens the pants off me! And panstless me probably will make you want a Unicorn Chaser.

I’m still not sure that the new Facebook isn’t some elaborate early-deployment April Fool’s Day gag.

I’m peeved that I missed out on woot.com‘s Random Bag of Crap today though. Ah, well, I’m sure I couldn’t have afforded the shipping.

I don’t know how I forgot to look at YouTube before I made the first post. They have a new layout! FYI, I picked the video from the main page because, even viewed normally it is freaky as hell and it is NOT improved by the new layout. Trippy man … Better than being RickRoll’d on every front page video.

Webcomics

Unfortunate news for all those fans who hoped to see Starslip‘s Kris Straub at Emerald City ComicCon this year. Damn that MarconiCon!

Jenn Dolari at Closetspace and A Wish for Wings gave her homepage of dolari.net a much-needed makeover.

David Willis has ended ShortPacked and is relaunching Roomies, his original strip.

Bloggers

After months of lambasting Glenn Beck for his histrionics, Moxie declares she’ll be appearing on his show tonight to make amends. The Snark is strong with this one.

The Bad Astronomer passes along a new series of pics from the Martian Rovers. I hope the line isn’t too long. The ride looks like it is worth it, though.

NASA‘s Astronomy Pic of the Day sort of qualifies, if only for the caption.

The Consumerist has a new reader-attraction scheme. Cats and Cake, baby!

LifeHacker finally solves the problem of short URLS.

I guess this now fits under the Blogger header. The London Guardian is switching to a Twitter-only format!

Others

Don’t forget to get your new copy of Nine Inch Nails‘ new album, Strobe Light (epileptics should not click this link).

Wizards of the Coast is usually pretty decent for 4/1. Today’s D&D gag seems a little too inside baseball. The MTG gag (amongst a few small ones on the main page) pales in comparison to last year’s Pirates Vs. Ninjas Announcement.

Tired of your dog always bugging you for his turn on the computer? Toshiba has come to your rescue!

Tor.com has the latest news on the saddest geek-happening in days. And he was JUST starting to hit his stride too. CURSE YOU FOX!

Finally, the moment we’ve all been waiting for is here: GROUNDHOG DAY THE MUSICAL!

BMW has a new innovation in energy efficiency. Be efficient while the other guy expends his energy!

That’s all I’ve got so far. Check your RSS feeds or this post for more as I find them.

I love April Fool’s Day. It’s just fun seeing clever people put forth a lot of effort for no other reason than my enjoyment. Eric Burns-White of Websnark has more to say.

Hope you all enjoyed April 1st as much as I did!

no comment

20

Feb

Future Nostalgia

Posted by MisterBixby  Published in Family, Internet, Media, Parenting Philosphy

I love Fark.com. It’s full of interesting articles about thousands of things that people shouldn’t care about or aren’t really important to anyone and a few actual news articles. A real prize is the comment sections accompanying every snarky headline. For the most part, it is populated by people who see the inanity inherent in racism, classism, stupidity and ignorance, and uses a healthy dose of irony to put everything and everyone in its proper place. Of course, there are plenty of folks who take themselves, the other commenters, the news articles and the internets too seriously for their own good as well. Every so often, a submitter doesn’t link to a story, but asks for advice or information.

The headline for this thread reads:

Youngish TFette has no comprehension what her adult life would be like without the internet or computer technology. Describe your pre-internet life.

The comments are uncharacteristically straightforward (albeit a little whimsical) and triggered flashbacks to a time before cell phones, ubiquitous cable TV, digital media as a term, much less a delivery system and the omnipresence of computers. There’s a sense of patient explanation of one generation’s world to another generation.

Then, the next day, the inimitable Wil Wheaton published The Week in Review: The Musical Future, in which he discusses his astonishment at the difference between how he collected music when he was 15 and how he and his sons do so now.

In reading through the Fark thread, I began to wonder what it is that my children will tell my grandchildren about how different things were and how difficult they had it. My daughters have never lived in a house without an internet-connected computer in the living room. They have never had fewer than 200 channels to choose from. They have never had to worry that a CD was the sole source of a particular song because the computer had backups of that media. They have always been able to reach my wife and I via cell phone when we’re out of the house (not that they call us, but we’re always available). They have always been able to see pictures taken of or by them seconds after the flash fades. They are 7 and 5. In the time they’ve been alive, we have changed progressed through two full generations of video game console.

I can compare my analog childhood with their digital one. I know the difference between VHF and UHF and the exquisite pain of tuning a TV station. I know the satisfying click that a TV dial makes when it changes channels. I’ve watched I Love Lucy, the Three Stooges, M*A*S*H and Mr. Ed because those were simply the only thing that were on on a Saturday afternoon after the Saturday Morning Cartoons had ended. Like Mr. Wheaton, I know what it means to flip to the other side to hear the rest of the album, whether it be cassette or record. I have sat with my finger anxiously over the pause button on the VCR remote to try to tape a movie from TV and excise the commercials. I have used a card catalog. I know what a card catalog even is.

At only 30 years old, I stand with my feet astride a boundary between the technological age of my parents and the information age of my children. The rate of information growth and processing are growing exponentially (literally – see Moore’s Law), so technology changes and improves faster today than it did when I was a kid. VCR was the standard home video format for something like 15 or 20 years. Then DVD hit mainstreamin the late 90s and reigned for less than a decade before being superceded by Blu-Ray and the short-lived HD-DVD. Vinyl was king for 60 years. SIXTY YEARS! It was supplemented by 8-track and cassette, but vinyl ruled them all. Then Compact Disks came along in the later ’80s and redefined fidelity. Now the very idea of physical media for music is fighting for survival. MP3 provides the same quality as CD and is infinitely more portable. I was 16 before I first connected to the Internet at blistering 14.4 Kbps. Now it’s a daily part of my life and lets me talk to anyone who might stumble by my neck of the cyber-woods.

When my dad was growing up, certain things were consistent and reliable for his whole youth. The biggest innovation in my dad’s pre-30 years might have been the advent of color TV or the VCR, but those were more than a decade apart; even after introduction, there was time to adjust to something before the next big innovation. Now, it feels like the next new big thing is introduced before you’ve thrown the box out for the previous new big thing.

My vintage-1978 brain still feels flexible enough to adapt to new technology for now. Cell phones are starting to make me gnash false teeth and scream for these damn kids with their internet devices to get off my CDMA lawn, though.

Will my daughters regale their unimpressed children with tales of how when they wanted to go online, they had sit (!) at a computer (‘what’s a computer?’), and click on a link (‘what’s a link?’) and load the page at a measly 6 Mbps (‘How many Mbps in a Terabit per second and what do you mean ‘load’?').

Standing outside my house and looking around, the Earth seems no different than when I was a kid. The grass is still green, the trees are still tall, majestic and made of raw wood, the sky is still blue and the clouds white. Then my cell phone notifies me that I got an SMS message from a friend pointing me to a website I’ve just got to see right now because they have all the latest spoilers on the movie I’m dying to see, so I click the link and read the news on my phone, not having left the spot, as I have a conversation with my friend, without speaking or hearing his voice, while the breeze blows by, stirring the faint memory of my analog childhood.

no comment

16

Feb

Star Wars-a-thon Day III – conclusion

Posted by MisterBixby  Published in Family, Fun stuff, Gaming, Holiday, Internet, Media, Parenting Philosphy, Star Wars-a-thon, Television and Movies, Uncategorized

I must say, seeing the prequels actually adds more pathos to Luke’s conversations with Obi-Wan about Anakin and with Vader in the hallway about the conflict within him. “It is too late for me, my son” rings more emotionally true than before.


It’s a TRAP!!!


Are “There’s too many of them” dude’s goggles made out of pink acetate?


Biggest glass jaws in all of sci-fi? Storm Troopers. One laser blast on their armor, one smack from an ewok (AN EWOK!), one rock to the helmet (seriously, what’s the point of this “armor?”) and they’re down for the count.


I have witnessed the firepower of this fully armed and operational battle station!!!!


O Noes! Chewbacca did NOT make the Tarzan call when swinging at the Chicken Walker with Ewoks hanging from him! He did? Oh, dear! (Lana: “He’s either Chewzan or Tarbacca! And he’s like a HUGE Ewok!”)


Han (futzing with the door): “I got it, I got it”)
[Door closes}
Lois: “I don’t got it”


And like a PIMP, she says “I know”


Vader: “Obi-Wan has taught you well”
Lana: “He ALWAYS says that”
Lois: “Cuz Obi-Wan has taught him WELL!”
Me: “Doesn’t Yoda get any credit?”


Aaand another Skywalker loses a light saber hand. At least this one was already mechanical. I wonder, since Luke looks at his hand and then at Vader’s stump before spurning the Emperor, if there is an academic paper to be written on how the entire Vader character arc turns on the anguish and inhumanity of being behanded. Does Anakin’s fall begin when he loses an arm in the fight against Dooku? Is it cemented when he loses the remaining arm and both legs in the fight against Kenobi? Does his redemption begin when he removes his son’s hand? Is that cemented when his son returns the favor and brings back the emotions he felt when he lost it the first time? Could I get a doctorate based on this?


Lois has been holding on to me tightly since the final confrontation with the Emperor. Then Vader grabs him from behind.
Lois: “I like this part.”


Lois: “Dad, did you know the Millenium Falcon has headlights?”
Me: “No, I didn’t.”
Lois: “It does, I’ve seen them.”


I’ve always found the reveal of Anakin’s face from the Vader helmet to be kind of a let-down. He seems too much of a schlub to have been badass Vader.


Death Star II’s Main Power Core and Master Control Program’s Core, separated at birth? Discuss.


Death Star blows up, millions killed. Celebration on Endor is a fantasy. Read the Real Truth! Galactic Republic Senate investigations will begin soon. Read more here


I really miss the old Yub Nub song.


Since Anakin was redeemed as an old man, WHY would Lucas replace the old man ghost with Hayden Christianson’s ghost?


I really, REALLY miss the old Yub Nub song.


This has been a wonderful Geek Family weekend. I loved sharing these experiences with my kids. Now to figure out how to get them into Star Trek. I don’t own any of the series, and only the NextGen movies. Maybe they need a few years to be ready for all of it? That would give me time to acquire them all. What’s funny is that I’ve always been a Star Trekite, but thanks to Lucas’ epic high roll in “Merchandising” and “Brand Tie-in” I have raised a couple of Star Warsians. Ah well.

Both girls loved the Star Wars-a-thon.

1 comment

9

Jan

When I was a kid, the internet moved at 14.4 Kbps!

Posted by MisterBixby  Published in Family, Internet

An interesting and cute little animation about the history of the internet. The internet celebrated it’s 50th birthday 2 years ago, and we all missed it. Didn’t even throw a party! This gives some perspective on how far we’ve come and gives the basic concept on the underpinnings of the internet. You’re not going to learn how TCP/IP works, but you’ll get an idea of what it does and why it was important. This something to show the kids when they express their disbelief that we didn’t always have hi-speed connections to the universe.


History of the Internet from PICOL on Vimeo.

no comment

2

Nov

When should I connect them?

Posted by WeaponXI  Published in Internet, Parenting Philosphy

When my lovely bride got a new smart phone, I was happy for her.  She immediately began to study the intricacies and soon managed to have her email, facebook and text setup just how she wanted it.

Now my wife, while always very good with technology and the computers, was never the type to get twitchy (like me) when access to the Internet became difficult.  Now that she has constant access however, I find it difficult to pull her off.  She is constantly texting and checking her facebook while away from home and while at home she is on the computer every possible moment.  She will even sometimes coop my seat while I am doing homework if I get up to use the bathroom!

The significance of this is two-fold.  First, it shows that the power of constant communication and access to information can be addictive.  Secondly, and more significantly, if it is that easy to get hooked once connected, when do I connect my kids?

Can I do it too early?  Will this constant stimulation at an early age dampen the rest of life’s experiences?  What is the right point to connect them so that they will see the Internet and the rest of the information technology out their as a tool and not a necessity?

Hope I guess correctly.

3 comments

Recent Posts

  • Comcast and Disincentives
  • An Environment of Satisfied Curiosity
  • Best Interpretation of Star Wars EVAR
  • Green Lantern: First Flight
  • April Fool’s Collection 2009

Recent Comments

  • Best Interpretation of Star Wars EVAR - Geekling Hatchery on He was kind of a deformed ewok
  • MisterBixby on Spectral Analysis
  • Pam on Spectral Analysis
  • Star Wars-a-thon Roundup! - Geekling Hatchery on Star Wars-a-thon Day III – conclusion
  • Star Wars-a-thon Roundup! - Geekling Hatchery on Valentine’s Day – Episode II

Archives

Recent Entries

  • Comcast and Disincentives
  • An Environment of Satisfied Curiosity
  • Best Interpretation of Star Wars EVAR
  • Green Lantern: First Flight
  • April Fool’s Collection 2009
  • Spectral Analysis
  • Future Nostalgia
  • Star Wars-a-thon Roundup!
  • Star Wars-a-thon Day III – conclusion
  • Star Wars-a-thon Day III – Ep. VI

Recent Comments

  • Best Interpretation of Star Wars EV… in He was kind of a deformed ewok
  • MisterBixby in Spectral Analysis
  • Pam in Spectral Analysis
  • Star Wars-a-thon Roundup! - Geeklin… in Star Wars-a-thon Day III - conclusion
  • Star Wars-a-thon Roundup! - Geeklin… in Valentine's Day - Episode II
  • Star Wars-a-thon Roundup! - Geeklin… in Star Wars-a-thon Day III: Intermission
  • Star Wars-a-thon Roundup! - Geeklin… in Stolen thunder?
  • BatMom in Stolen thunder?
  • MisterBixby in The countdown is on to another geekling!
  • WeaponXI in Geektopia at Work
  • Random Selection of Posts

    • An Environment of Satisfied Curiosity
    • Wise beyond her years…
    • Pop @!#&$(!-ing Culture Exposure
    • Awesome tribute to John Williams
    • Best Interpretation of Star Wars EVAR
    • End of Star Wars-a-thon Day 1
    • Green Lantern: First Flight
© 2008 Geekling Hatchery is proudly powered by WordPress
Theme designed by Roam2Rome