I work in the tech industry and yes, I spend an incredible amount of time tapping away at a keyboard to make my keep. I guess I would say I know a fair amount about computers, but one of the things I know for sure is that there is a great deal I don’t know about computers and that’s half the battle. This is obvious when I update my home router or venture off and try to set up a network with my home computers.

That my friend, is why companies have IT departments so an entire workforce doesn’t grind to a halt every time they have to reconfigure their network settings or need some type of general computer repair or update.

The long and short of it is at a certain point of greatly diminishing returns you either do one of two things; you either give in to your ego and decide to dig your heels in, make that pot of coffee and figure why your system has gone awry or you open your wallet and call some reliable company for some tech support. I have now reached a point in my life where I opt for the latter of the two. Call me lazy, call me sleep deprived but letting a technician from FastTek (or the likes of) come in and tweak my system is well worth it.

   

Weekdays aside, my choice of clothes on the weekends tends to be biased on the side of “function” rather than “form.” In short, my pants need to have a lot of pockets; either that or I need to make my tool belt into a viable fashion accessory.

Case in point, by the end of the day I can usually find the following things stuffed in my pockets; phone, wallet, her phone, her wallet, keys, her keys, pacifier(s), finished lollipop sticks, many dirty tissues, a dog toy, random pieces of hardware (screws, zip ties, bolts, etc.), that button battery I picked up off the floor before Junior consumed it, etc.

Second only to the local Army/Navy Store, I have found there are some pretty cool 511 Shorts and Shirts at LAPoliceGear.Com. Sure they look like regular cargo shorts, but they have a couple secret compartments that would please the Maxwell Smart in you.

   

Here’s a great opportunity to spend some quality time with the kids, perhaps learn something about how computers are built and save a few bucks in the process. You and your kid can design and custom build pc just for gaming for a fraction of what they cost in the stores. They include plain English (gosh, I hope so!) instructions with lots of illustrations and full manufacturer warranties.

You can also get upgrade kits to increase your ram or replace your CPU. All you need is a screwdriver and you can save $100’s. The basic kit comes with a 2.2G Core 2 Duo, 2G SDRAM and a graphics card option - that’s a pretty good start and it’s definitely a kit with room to grow.

   

Managing my time efficiently as a dad is always a challenge. Sometimes it all seems just beyond reach. All those errands and to-do lists, clothes sitting at the dry cleaners, getting a tune-up or oil change and running to the store to get diapers (again). Yeah, I’m talking about the day-to-day drudgery of managing a family. You know, the thankless stuff that fills up your day.

When it comes to common purchases or stuff I know I’m going to need on a regular basis I am starting to turn to the web. If I know what I need and I know the going price and more importantly I can get a good deal to offset the cost of shipping, I go online. It simply saves me time.

Getting prescription refills is a great example. Considering the traffic to get there, to find parking, the time it takes to wait in line to make a purchase and so forth - the idea of getting online prescriptions or office supplies during my lunch-break sounds pretty good to me. Granted you can’t buy every prescription online but if you need common stuff, it is pretty easy these days.

I tend to get back spasms and get whacked by the occasional tension headache so I have Butalbital (generic Fioricet) in my medicine cabinet. This is pretty common stuff that I can get online. This way when my toddler sneaks up on me and jumps on my back which is many times a day, I’m ready for him.

   

My wife and I love our DVR don’t get me wrong. It’s gotta be a pretty incredible commercial for me to click out of fast forward (x4). But occasionally, there is one that is so visually clever or amazing you have to see it at least once.

This one is great. It’s for Chevrolet Europe. Can you imagine if this happened every time you needed to jump in the car and run to get groceries? The kids would love it (the first ten times or so).

   

Here’s a fun little diagram for a rose made from LEGOs that you can make for the mom that has everything (except maybe that diamond necklace). This LEGO Rose makes an especially great Mother’s Day gift idea for kids who want to give mom a gift and don’t have the funds to purchase something. I can see their proud little faces as they give their bouquet to Mom.

The little ones can build the rose with the LEGO bricks they have lying around the house, or pick out cool new colors from LEGO’s new Pink Brick Bucket set which the entire family can enjoy together. And remember if you ever start running out of ideas or have some time on your hands check out the BrickShelf User Gallery - where people submit photos of their LEGO masterpieces.

Sited Links:
Download the LEGO Rose Instructions
BrickShelf

   

So much of childhood has become sedentary with the advent of video games, the internet and other forms of portable entertainment systems. You may argue to what extent but the fact remains - there are a lot of options for our kids not to go out and play. And why should they? There are so many immersive video games that are through-backs of “cops and robbers” and other games of yesteryear that prompted kids to run around all afternoon.

One viable option is paintball. It is an update on an old theme. It allows those kids to play through there aggression and work as a team, to role-play and use there wits and imagination while working up a good old fashioned sweat. The nature of it allows kids to play spyder paintball in a group with more tactical missions or just all out run and gun style, either way they will get a good workout. This of course assumes certain things regarding equipment and safety.

Like most activities, paintball requires proper safety equipment (much like skiing, football and other sports). If kids don’t wear the proper safety equipment or they wear it improperly they of course leaving themselves open to injury. Assuming they are suited up properly, it can be a good time had by all, maybe even dad too.

   

When you book a flight to New York City and you are planning to have the kids in tow, consider how you are going to get the family and the whole “kit” (all that luggage and so forth) from the airport to your final destination whether it is family in Brooklyn or a hotel in Mid-town. Locals know to call ahead for a car service so they’ll be there waiting for you.

Sure you can hail a cab but the car services are a better solution when traveling with the kids. A lot of the area car services have a number of different kinds of vehicles in their fleet, so if you are used to a mini-van or require a passenger van, you can request one up front.

Yes, you may spend an extra buck or two, but my feeling is it will be well worth it. The key thing when traveling with the kids is to call ahead for the reservation so there is a smooth transition from leaving the plane, to gathering your luggage right to the car - at least that’s the goal. There are many car services to choose from whether you need one from Newark, JFK or LGA car service; dare I say hundreds to choose from. One company that springs to mind is Dial 7 they have a decent website with pictures of their fleet, rates and reservation page.