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The latest report from U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) indicates that there were reports of seven fireworks-related deaths and an estimated 7,000 hospital emergency room treated injuries in 2008. In 2007, CPSC had reports of eleven deaths and an estimated 9,800 injuries. Injuries have More »
This is the 20th year teaching in the Los Angeles Unified School District for Henry Anker. Over the years he has developed a number of flash-based tests for kids, grades one through six based on the State’s Standard Test. He’s currently serving as an ITAF More »
I have three young ones and I can say from experience that each “job” has its own equipment, so to speak. Meaning, you have a bag for hiking, one for the gym and maybe one for work, but do you have one for all the diapers, wipes, bottles and creams that is better known as the “Kid Kit”? Sure you could use a backpack or a messenger bag or perhaps in a pinch you could use your wife’s diaper bag. But to be an organized dad and wear something that better reflects your personal style (as opposed to the pink flowers and polka dots on your wife’s bag), you will need a separate bag.
With my first kid, I could get away with jamming a few diapers in my back pocket and going on an adventure with him, now with three kids, two in diapers, I need as much organization as I can afford. The Diaper Dude (DD) brand, which takes the traditional “female-centric” diaper bag and makes it “dude friendly.” “Most diaper bags for men were backpacks, lacking in accessibility and functionality,” says Chris Pegula, founder of LA-based, Diaper Dude. This brand has star-power to boot; you cannot open a magazine without seeing a famous dad of today – ranging from Brad Pitt and More »
Tags: 0-1 year, 2-4, baby fashion, better living, design, eco-friendly, mod
In an endless search for new and exciting (for us parents anyway) themed birthday parties, my wife and I cobbled together a successful pajama theme for our son’s second birthday. All the kids arrived in their favorite jammies, most with their favorite slippers on and ready to eat. We decided to throw a late afternoon soiree, for a couple reasons, first and foremost to be in phase with the Birthday Boy’s midday nap. Surprisingly, a few of the parents thanked us for having the party at this time because it worked out better for them too.
For food, we tapped a couple of our favorite local haunts hear in West LA, Dos Hermanos catering and Paddy Mac. Dos Hermanos has been around for 20+ years and like the name suggests, is a couple brothers originally from the Jalisco region of Mexico who have been serving up distinctly regional fare out of their small yet immaculate kitchen. There menu is short but these incredibly fresh dishes are memorable with favorites like savory chicken or cheese enchiladas, hearty Birria de la Jalisco and an almost cassoulette-style fajita. You cannot beat their price at $4.50 a person, you get an entree with rice and beans, salad (with dressing), and chips & salsa.
One of the few things our son can eat seemingly endless amounts of is macaroni & cheese. Always kid-friendly and parent-approved, we decided to order some of the famed Mac and Cheese from Paddy Mac. They have a diverse menu (all Mac & Cheese) including the standard, The Ship, with five kinds of cheese (pictured above) – you know the kids won’t go hungry. Our personal favorite is the Super Mac which slips in puree of cauliflower and carrot for a super vitamin boost, which goes virtually undetected amidst all that cheesey goodness. Other items on their menu seem to cater to a more mature palette like their Gourmet Mac (braised leeks, mushrooms and a touch of Gruyere) and the Old MACdonald’s Farm (bacon, broccoli and pockets of goat cheese & feta), regardless all recipes are perfectly balanced, thus always reminding you that what you have on you plate is some fresh and fancy Mac and Cheese.
My wife was in charge of fun and games, and considering we were hosting a party full of 2-4 year olds, she kept all the games non-competitive. Here is the break-down of the activities; More »
We were greeted at the Rose Bowl parking lot by a small army of Rose Parade workers (known simply as “White Suitors” because of their pristine white suits and white straw hats which are a throwback to the Parade’s 100 history), that directed us with mechanical precision to an open field that quickly swelled into a tightly packed lot full of SUV’s and Minivans.
We arrived kinda early, so they lines moved faster than we could scoot our kids along and we were on our way to one of the many chartered school buses taking us across town to the floats. Knowing that three Park N’Ride locations were feeding bus-loads of us to the same neighborhood, things got pretty congested. The three parking locations are the Rose Bowl, Pasadena City College, and the Community Education Center in Pasadena.
If you are planning on going here are some parent tips to make the trip a little easier;
If you want to sit down and take a break, check out the 15 minute documentary about the making of a float for the Rose Parade at the 1600 theater at Pasadena High School. It puts some perspective on the massive effort put forth every year. I guarantee you won’t watch the parade the same way.
Some of the highlights of the showcase for me was being able to look into the underbelly of these homemade monstrosities. Many of the ones with heavy animatronics rigs looked like they had full server racks next to the driver’s seats! Sure that is probably on of the geeker fun facts, but it really is interesting to get up close to these works of art after seeing them on TV.
Float Detail | 2009 Rose Parade Float Showcase
In response to the public’s demand for secure and anonymous ways to submit crime tips to authorities, the Los Angeles Police Department has developed two new anonymous tip reporting systems.
Previously, there was no system whereby information could be passed from the public to the police and back without the identity of the person providing information being known to the police. Ultimately, many valuable tips were withheld from police because people lacked confidence that their identity would be kept anonymous. Anonymous letters did not have a mechanism to ask simple follow-up questions, or eliminate hoaxes. These new services offered by the LAPD overcome all of these concerns. The LAPD is hopeful that these two new anonymous tip systems will open the flow of information between a community fearful of gangs and the police.
Text-A-Tip Service; this allows a tipster to provide information to the LAPD and remain completely anonymous through text or SMS messaging. SMS or Short Message Service are common text messages which can be used by virtually any cell phone user. Tipsters type the word “LAPD” plus their crime information on their cell phone or PDA to the number 2-7-4-6-3-7 which spells out the word “CRIMES”. The text message is encrypted and an alias is generated for the tipster, masking their identity from the police. There is no way for the police to determine the user’s identity.
To text a tip to the Los Angeles Police Department, you must have text messaging enabled on your phone and subscribe to a participating cell phone carrier. To begin your tip session, text the word “LAPD” along with your crime information to the number, 2-7-4-6-3-7, which spells the word “CRIMES” on your phone’s keypad.
While handset menus differ by carrier or model, here are some basic steps on how to compose a text message.
TIPSOFT WEB TIPS; submitting a crime tip through the web is as easy as going to the www.lapdonline.org website and clicking on the ANONYMOUS WEB TIP link. Tipsters will fill out the web tip form. Once completed, they can elect to create a password and click on the Submit Tip button. A tip code is created after a tip is submitted. Tipsters can check the status of their tip at a later date by logging in with their code and password.
The Two-Way Dialogue features allow the tipster to return at their convenience and securely provide additional information to their original tip and investigators can securely ask questions or provide instructions back to the tipster as well.
No mobile phone information is collected by the Los Angeles Police Department as part of this program. Your Text-A-Tip and Web-Tips are completely anonymous to the LAPD and is only identifiable by the code provided to you. Any information submitted is directed to the LAPD’s Regional Crime Center detectives, who will disseminate the information to the appropriate LAPD investigative unit.
Sited Links;
Los Angeles Police Department | Annonymous Web Tip Form
Los Angeles Police Department | Text-a-Tip Brochure
