Digital Dads

In this week’s episode we had the privilege of talking with Dr. Mike Patrick of PediaCast. He has extensive background as a pediatrician and one foot firmly planted in the technology camp with a long running podcast as well. Naturally, as a couple of dads and techies ourselves we jumped at the chance to interview him.

He answers questions from the effectiveness of preventive full body casts, to whether Andrew’s neurosis is damaging to himself or his daughter. Truly riveting inquiries. He even mentions medical marijuana.

Another thing he mentions is he’s just started a new podcast, PediaCast CME, specifically for healthcare providers. It discusses topics about general pediatrics and even offers CME credit. Too cool.

We had an absolute blast and we’d love to have him on the show again soon. Enjoy!

One Cool Thing

* Waze – traffic app

Life is short. We know this to be true but sometimes, we forget. It’s so easy to get lost in the busyness of life that this one simple fact is something we rarely think about. But every once in a while life throws you a curve. And you have no choice but to try and make the best of it.

Sometimes unexpected things happen that turns everything upside down. And it can happen in an instant. This is exactly the situation Adam Hartvigsen and his son Ethan were facing when they had a day neither of them could have possibly anticipated..

Going in to check on a pain in Ethan’s leg (which turned out to be a hairline fracture), the doctor’s discovered what would eventually be determined to be cancer. And their lives were immediately and forever changed.

It turns out Adam is a fan and he’s one of the first listeners to reach out to us with a question for the show. During our correspondence we discovered the journey and challenges they experienced as a result of Ethan’s illness. Then he dropped the bomb on us.

Apparently, the Make-A-Wish foundation got involved resulting in Ethan, Disney World Star Wars weekend, and an epic battle with Darth Vader. Which he won of course. And then took out multiple Storm Troopers with his advanced knowledge of the Force.

Naturally we responded immediately by asking him to be on the show. We really loved the idea of integrating the occasional listener story into our podcast and this seemed like the perfect fit. Ethan is a super brave little boy and his story is an inspiration to us all.

Show Notes

* Make-A-Wish

* Disney World Star Wars weekends

Support the Digital Dads show (thanks for checking out this video!)

Brent on Twitter / Andrew on Twitter

Facebook. Twitter. Instagram. YouTube. iTunes. Twitch. Periscope.

So much of the content we consume online these days is produced by regular people. Not high profile celebrities (although they get in on it too sometimes), but everyday average people just like you and me. Life has forever been changed.

Now, the only thing stopping someone from creating their own stuff and putting it online is a little initiative. The gatekeepers of the past are no longer holding the keys. And people are finding fun new ways to share their creativity every day.

One example is this podcast. And for this episode we bring in Brent’s son Cody as a guest host. We figured since he had “the talk” in Episode 11 it was time we let him contribute to the show in a more impactful way. You can be the judge of his performance.

One thing is certain. The world is more connected than ever before. So go on, it’s your turn. Create something incredible to share with the rest of us. What’s stopping you?

Show Notes

* Action Movie Kid (YouTube)

* Audacity (free audio recording software)

One Cool Thing

* Andrew – Sling TV

* Brent – Space Pen

Support the Digital Dads show (thanks for checking out this video!)

Brent on Twitter / Andrew on Twitter

Living on Mars. The thought of not only traveling to the red planet but setting up camp there is mind blowing. But that’s exactly what the Mars-One team intends to do. And they mean to do it soon.

Starting with a candidate pool of over 200,000 applicants, they have whittled their way down to 100 hopefuls who may soon be eating a bowl of cereal and reading the newspaper in outer space. Literally. And the goal is to start sending these space-aged colonists on this amazing journey beginning in 2026.

In this episode we get to speak one of those finalists, Sonia Van Meter, about why she is so excited to go despite having a husband and family. She was truly a pleasure to talk to as well as highly entertaining. We came away from the interview inspired and excited about the future of space travel.

One Cool Thing

* Andrew – Dubsmash

* Brent – Periscope

Ever since we were kids space has been the final frontier. From Star Trek to landing on the moon in real life, the infinite vastness of the universe has always held the promise of something else. Something more. And we just may be on the brink of actually stretching humanity beyond our earthly confines.

There is a group, Mars-One, that has been in the news a lot lately. They have boldly announced they will begin colonization of Mars beginning in 2026. If that sounds impossible maybe it is. And maybe it isn’t.

In this episode we have the privilege of speaking with MIT researcher Sydney Do about the feasibility of the Mars-One endeavor. This effort is steeped in aerospace technology and Sydney provided a great perspective that you won’t want to miss.

Make sure to listen in to Part 2 as well. After getting the scientific point of view in this episode, we dig into the human side of the story in the next one. It really completes the picture.

Show Notes

* MIT Mars-One Study Results

One Cool Thing

* Brent – Fictional Places to Experience Virtual Reality (VR)

* Andrew – XBox One Mini Controller

Video games have come a long way since we were kids. Back then, two paddles and a bouncing ball was all it took to provide hours worth of entertainment. And it didn’t even matter if the TV was black & white or not since that game wasn’t even in color. But not now. Kids today have a plethora of options in the palm of their hand.

But such a dramatic change in video game entertainment didn’t happen overnight. And it was without a doubt one heck of a journey. We witnessed the rise of the Atari 2600 with games like Asteroids, Centipede, and Pitfall in the mix. And we watched the earth move when Nintendo released Super Mario Bros. on the NES home console.

So naturally as kids of the 80’s video games will forever hold a special place in our hearts. And in this episode we take a trip down memory lane revisiting these in all their glory. Then we compare where we are today and what the world of gaming is like for our kids. It was a lot of fun to record and we hope you really enjoy it. Oh, and make sure to listen to the very end. We often have outtakes there and this time Kenna tells a joke. Worth the wait.

One Cool Thing (or two if you’re Andrew)

* Brent – Nintendo Goes Mobile

* Andrew (1) – Ready Player One

* Andrew (2) – Making Games with Unity 3D

Show Notes

* Pong – Original

* Atari 2600

* E.T.

* Pac Man

* Zork

* Spy Hunter

* Pac Man (table top)

* Donkey Kong

* Ms. Pac Man

* King of Kong – movie

* Nintendo Entertainment System (NES)

* Super Mario Bros.

* Konami Code

* Game Boy

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This is our very first edition of our new weird science episodes. We simply can’t make this stuff up. Each of this style episode will feature the most peculiar science related stories we can find. And then we’ll talk about it. Simple right?

As an added bonus this is also the first time we include a “mailbag” segment. We answer questions from listeners posed on Facebook, Twitter, and email. Want to have your question be featured on the show? Drop us a line and ask us anything.

Weird Science

* Pills to Make Flatulence Smell Like Chocolate

* Time Dilation – Is time travel really possible?

* A Dress of Any Other Color (Blue & Black or Gold & White)

One Cool Thing

* Brent – Star Wars Card Trader

* Andrew – Main Event

Show Notes

* Destiny Share Play trolling

* More on the Destiny story

* Marvel Movie Rights – Venn Diagram

Support the Digital Dads Show (thanks for checking out this video!)

Brent on Twitter / Andrew on Twitter

This week we got the chance to speak with the founders of Bitsbox, a brand new website created to make learning to program easier and more accessible for children.  Aidan Chopra and Scott Lininger wanted to create something that encourages kids to create things with code.

As fathers themselves, they understood this was no easy task. But they were up for the challenge. They eventually settled on three things that would be critical to the project’s success.

* Keep it simple. This was a key to the whole project. The website needed an interface that kids could sit down and start coding immediately.

* Make it fun. A lot of thought and effort clearly went into making this project fun. Right from the start kids get to jump in and see the results of their code. They can also scan the screen with their tablet or phone and see their creation come to life.

* Keep it fresh. Kids have short attention spans. How can coding remain new and exciting? The answer they found is brilliant. By integrating the monthly box craze (Nerd Block etc.) kids can receive a surprise in the mail each month that includes fresh new projects for them to try.

The project started out as a Kickstarter campaign smashing through the goal of $45,000 and reaching over a quarter of a million dollars in funding. The public had spoken. Bitsbox would become a reality.

Currently Aidan and Scott are putting the finishing touches on the project. The Bitsbox website is free to use and our kids had a blast playing around with it. And they didn’t even mind that they were learning at the same time.

 

Show Notes

* Bitsbox website

* New Avengers trailer

* One Cool Thing – Nerd Block mystery boxes

 

The sex talk. Admittedly, my wife and I have been dragging our feet on telling our 10-year-old son about it. That all changed when he overheard us mention it one time while scanning the IMDB app on the iPad. Pretty soon he figured out that “the talk” was the only thing standing between him and the shows he wanted to watch. That’s when he started putting the full court press on his mother and me.

It’s a weird thing having your son start asking you repeatedly to have “the talk” like he’s begging for a new video game. Even though I wasn’t sure I wanted to have the talk just yet, I was very sure I wanted to record everything just in case.

As it turns out we did have the talk with Cody. And I recorded it. Right along with the talks I had with Shannon. And even one with my dad. That was a doozy. Let me tell you. And all in the name of producing quality entertainment.

Andrew and I stitched together a narrative and pieced together the episode to share with the world. And the result, is nothing short of awesome. My pain is your pleasure. Enjoy.

One Cool Thing

* Brent (deferred to Cody) – Super Smash Bros. – Wii U

* Andrew – Crossy Road

Relevant Links

* Dr. Phil’s sex talk dos and dont’s

* Parenting.com

* WebMD.com

* HealthyChildren.org

 

Text messages. My kids got iPods for Christmas and I’m afraid we have ushered in a whole new era of communication. It started out innocently enough. Taylor (age 7) was sitting on the couch enjoying some tunes on her new device with her headphones plugged in.

After hearing my wife trying to get her attention I quickly realized that my phone was in my hand and I could just text her. She looked up quickly to see what I wanted. And I’m afraid that may have just ushered in a whole new chapter in our lives.

Lucky for me at this point my girls don’t know many words. Kenna doesn’t really know any at all. Her texts consist of as many emoticons as she can possibly fit on the screen. And her messages usually include the infamous “angry cat,” since she finds it hilarious to send to me and her brother. My default response typically mirrors said cat.

Truthfully, all the kids are really more preoccupied with games and music for the time being. But I know that as soon as they hit their teenage years their little thumbs will be in jeopardy of persistent carpal tunnel syndrome.

In this episode we dig into this topic and how it has become nearly ubiquitous in such a short amount of time. So short in fact that society has yet to define clear rules of etiquette and use. Listen in as we weigh the pros and cons of this short burst method of communication.

One Cool Thing

* Brent – Dumb Ways to Die

* Andrew – Spiderman now part of Marvel Cinematic Universe

Show Notes

* Guy Walks into a Bear