2009 October | Digital Dads

Archive for October, 2009

Yelling – Is It Needed?

Friday, October 23rd, 2009

In my travels around the web yesterday, I noticed some people talking about article in the NY Times called For Some Parents, Shouting Is the New Spanking by Hilary Stout.

parentyell

This is something I’ve been thinking a lot about and was curious to get some other parents opinions on.

I’ve been known to raise my voice to the kids. It is weird because I don’t have a temper for the most part and usually if I get in a heated discussion or argument with someone I go ice cold and direct. But, when it comes to the kids they stress me out to the point where I’d just snap and the only way to get through to them would be to yell. I always feel bad about it and depending on the reasons for it I usually end up apologizing after the fact for raising my voice or yelling and having a regular conversation about what they did wrong or whatever it was that set me off.

Of course this goes against everything we have taught them about how any discussion can be had with a leveled voice. We try to always leave attitude at the door and have regular conversations no matter what it is. But, we both break that from time to time as this morning quickly reminded me.

Several months back (maybe even longer now) I was talking with my sisters and one of them made a remark about how they never remember our Dad ever raising his voice at us. I keep thinking about that every time I do raise my voice and the weird thing is that I don’t remember him ever doing it. When he reads this I’m curious what his memories will be.

I grew up in a household where I knew that if I stepped out of line I’d be in trouble. That was crystal clear and has kept me on a pretty straight path my whole life. Yet, my parents were laid back and didn’t raise their voices. How did that work? In the times where I was really getting on their nerves or pushing all the wrong buttons how was it that they kept it level and didn’t yell. Self control is a great thing, but it only goes so far right?

I don’t have the answers. I’ve never claimed to, but this is a topic I’ve been thinking a lot about and the NY Times piece really got me thinking about it and I wanted to know what other parents thought about this.

Do you yell at your kids? Do you feel bad after?

My answer is certainly yes to both, but I want to hear your stories.

Tags: Critical Thinking, Discipline, New York Times, raised voices, screamer, yelling
Posted in Discipline, General Parenting | Comments

A Library in Your Hand

Wednesday, October 14th, 2009

I’ve always been someone who loves to read. Ever since I was little I could be found reading books. It is something that I’m hoping my kids continue to do. I love that both of them are assigned to read at least 20 minutes every night as part of their homework. They can pick the books, but they have to read. I love that.

So when devices like the Amazon Kindle and the Sony Reader came on the market I was cautiously excited because I could see the potential but I wasn’t sure I was ready to give up my paper just quite yet.

I purchased a first generation Kindle and version 2 when it came out as well. I love being able to bring this simple device on a plane with me rather then a hard cover book. Being able to carry piles of books on a single device so I can read whatever I want makes it even more appealing. I’m not sure how I managed before owning one.

As part of the Sony Dads project I was loaned a Sony Reader Pocket Edition™ to review and then send back. They also hooked us up with a couple of coupons so we could buy some books to read on the device for free. I ordered a copy of Candor by Pam Bachorz and The Road (because I want to read it before seeing the movie). I really wanted to spend some time with the device so that I could really review it.

There are a few things I liked about the device, but not many. The size is amazing. It is bigger then an iPhone, but smaller then the Kindle. In my comparisons it was a bit bigger then your usual paperback, but much much thinner.

I also love that when reading a book it actually gives you an accurate count of the number of pages that are left when reading. The Kindle doesn’t do this and it drives me nuts. It may not be all that important when reading a business book, but it is something I want when reading fiction. Finally, the screen is as advertised and it is easy to read in mixed lighting situations.

Now for the list of things I don’t like and there are many:

There is no buying directly from the device. In fact that is no wireless connectivity on it so when on the road you are stuck with what you put on it ahead of time. I’m a big impulse shopper and have bought more then one book directly from my Kindle while sitting in an airport.
The overall buying experience leaves a lot to be desired. You must download and install a program onto your computer in order to shop. Has Sony not heard of web browsers? Let me buy from anywhere I am rather then forcing me to buy from the computer I install your software on!
I’ve heard some complaints about the selection being lacking, but I found everything I was looking for so it wasn’t a problem for me.
I could not find a way to auto sync purchases to the reader. I finally figured out that I had to connect it to the computer in order to put any books on it, but I also seemed to have to click and drag them in order to put them on the device. I could have easily missed how to do this though.
I wasn’t a big fan of the look of the device. The line of buttons up the side is overkill and actually confused me at first because I guess I expected the UI to be easier to use and not needing so many buttons.
I wish it let me make the text smaller. You can make it bigger, but I want a smaller size then the smallest they offer so I don’t have to flip the page as often as I did. As a fast reader with good eyes this drove me nuts.

Needless to say, I won’t be recommending this product for the holidays. I had high hopes for the device. Especially after I opened it up and saw how small it was. That jazzed me up, but I was quickly deflated after using it for a bit.

Everyone knows how to pick up a book and use it and if I can’t pick up a device like this and figure out how to use it then that is a big problem that Sony has to fix before this will be mass adopted.

This post is part of series called the “Sony DigiDad Project” by Sony Electronics where a group of dads, including C.C. Chapman, Jeffrey Sass, Max Kalehoff, Michael Sheehan, and Brad Powell, have been given the opportunity to test and review Sony gear (lent to us by Sony). If you want to know more about this project visit the Sony Electronics Community.

DISCLOSURE OF MATERIAL CONNECTION: http://cmp.ly/1

Tags: digidads, kindle, sony, sony dads, sony electronics, sony ereader, sony reader
Posted in Reviews, Technology | Comments

100 Faces

Tuesday, October 6th, 2009

I’ve been having a lot of fun with this whole Sony Dads project. It isn’t even the equipment that they loan us to play with that is most fun for me. I like the stories they are asking us to tell without giving us many guidelines. They are like the bumpers on a bowling alley. They set them up for you, but then you use them as you see fit. Personally I’m using these as inspiration to try out new things and get creative again.

This go around we were tasked with something they were calling 100 Faces.

Since I’m an avid photographer and my Canon 50D is never far from me if not permanently strapped to my hand I wasn’t sure if I was the right person to test the cameras. They sent us both a Sony A330 DSLR and the Cyber-Shot DSC-TX1 . The first being their entry level digital SLR and the later their newest slick point and shoot on the market.

Yes, I shot a bunch of pictures with both and even filmed a quick video with the point and shoot the minute the batteries were charged, but I am also biased. After playing with the A330 for a bit I posted this video review of it. I’m use to being able to customize lots of things when I shoot pictures and I couldn’t do everything I was use to. So instead of only having me review it, I gave my kids the cameras and let them take pictures with them whenever they wanted. The results are here in this video The 100 Faces by The Chapman Kids (special thanks to Now is Now for the use of their music) :

Both kids had a blast with the cameras and overall I’m really happy with the photos that are produced. The point and shoot has one of the coolest features I’ve seen in a long time with a built in panoramic mode. Turn it on and then just pan the camera and it takes an instant panoramic shot and the results are stunning. Dylan and I had fun playing with this as you can see in this shot.

I was also pleasantly surprised to discover that the A330 can either take a standard CD card or a Sony Memory stick. Kudos on realizing that the memory stick is not the way everyone goes. Unfortunately, on the DSC-TX1 it only takes a Sony memory stick and worse yet it needs a proprietary cable in order to attach the camera to the computer. These two reasons along means that I’d never buy one of these cameras. I want electronics that work with each other rather then requiring me to carry extra cables, readers and special cards.

Neither of the cameras would be something that I personally would purchase, but I’m not the target audience either since I’m already shooting with a camera further up the food chain then both. I will say that if you are in the market for a starter camera on the digital SLR level then check out the A330 when you look at others because it can hold it’s own on most levels I believe. Dylan especially loved the pull out and tilting screen that allowed him to take pictures over his head or low on the ground.

Tags: 100 faces, a330, Cyber-shot, digidads, Photography, Point-and-shoot camera, sony, sony electronics, sonydads
Posted in Photography, Reviews, Technology, Videos | Comments

Becoming a Dad

Friday, October 2nd, 2009

I remember when I first found out that I was going to be a father. I was filled with excitement, fear, joy and a bunch of other emotions that you can’t really express unless you’ve been there.

Back then we were living in Virginia and away from all of our family and friends. The decision of how and when to tell people is never an easy thing to do, but we made the best of it and figured it out. We didn’t have things like Twitter or Facebook to tell masses of people at one time, so the news trickled out slowly and surely and it was always fun to have new people find out and get in touch.

This morning my good friend Clarence told the world that he is going to be a poppa and he did it in a way that I’ve never been part of before. He did it by posting the comic below on one of his projects called Planet Wifey. I’ve known about the news for a bit and I’m glad he got the chance (and felt that we were close enough) to tell me in person, but I love that so many other people will find out from this comic.

Planet Wife 2009-10-02

The one thing I tell every guy who tells me they are going to be a Dad for the first time is the same thing a friend from Bentley told me when I told him the news.

He looked me in the eyes and said, “You think you know that you are going to be a Dad, but you really don’t yet. Just wait and at some point, somewhere the news is really going to hit you and then you’ll know you are going to be a dad.”

I laughed it off and then I remember being at a red light, months later on my way home from work when this wave of “oh shit I’m going to be a Dad!” washed over me. I broke down crying and was filled with an even bigger mix of emotions then I had before. I laughed at myself as I realized this is what my friend meant. Now I knew I was going to be a dad.

So, now I give that same bit of advice to every new dad. I also always recommend The Expectant Father: Facts, Tips and Advice for Dads-to-Be as my book of choice for guys to read. I read them all and that is the one that stuck with me and was actually written in a way that a guy wants to read and I respected that.

Congrats to Clarence and to all the new Dads out there. It feels like something is in the water lately because there are a lot of new babies on the horizon.

What advice do you give to your friends when they tell you they are becoming fathers? I’d love to hear!