Events | Digital Dads

Posts About ‘Events’

Holy Bun in the Oven, It’s the Dynamic Duo

Wednesday, November 9th, 2011

So, first of all, I should apologize for that cornball title, but given that I’m writing about both the Samsung Flex Duo oven AND the top chefs The Voltaggio Brothers, it was too good an opportunity to miss.

Although this is my first post for Digital Dads, I used to blog quite a lot (anyone remember YesButNoButYes.com?) and so I’ve navigated my fair share of influencer outreaches, but this one was one of the cooler ones.

Samsung invited me to their test kitchens to try out their new Flex Duo oven (which I shall examine from the male perspective, ie geek tech) as well as get to watch Top Chef winners The Voltaggio Brothers cook up some holiday dishes – and most of all taste them.

But first, let’s all give a small soft handclap to Samsung’s marketing team for the idea of pairing celebrity chef brothers with an oven that’s called the Duo. In a way, it’s kinda obvious, but that’s probably the genius of it. The Duo, I get it. It works, nice job.

So let’s break down the components of this post for easy reading into bullet points, because, as a wise guru once said, people like bullet points:

The Flex Duo Oven and why it’s pretty cool
The Voltaggio Brothers give a cooking demonstration and tips
A tasting session in which I drool accordingly
Volt, Ink, the Volts new cookbook

The Flex Duo Oven

It’d be easiest to just provide a link at this point and my work is done. But that’s giving it short shrift, because there’s some tech going on in this new oven that actually is quite impressive. The Duo is basically one large oven with two separate heating systems, and a removable thermal “smart divider”. So when the divider is out, it’s one big oven, and when it’s in, it basically functions as a dual oven, with different temperature and cooking sections above and below.

If you’re like me, most meals are a weird maths equation of “if this is 30 mins at 425 and this is 40 mins at 350, then I can cook them both at 385 for ….ugh”. Samsung actually said that “meal synchronization” is one of the more stressful things for cooks. So being able to essentially customize your oven at will without sacrificing a big space when you need it is pretty interesting.

The Voltaggio Brothers Cook

The Voltaggio Brothers did a cooking demonstration using the oven, and I’ve got to hand it to them, they seemed genuinely enthusiastic about the oven, Michael especially. One thing they raved about was the fact that there was no “flavor transfer” between the ovens, meaning I guess you could cook bacon and fish in separate sections without everything tasting of bacon (although, why the hell would you not want that?)

Along the way, they were throwing out tips and tricks, and a couple I noted that I thought were especially useful.

Always keep the sugar next to the salt in the kitchen because most dishes function of the salt-sweet continuum. So you may in many cases be adding sugar to a savory dish if the ingredients are particularly salty.
The best way to get picky kids to eat healthy is involve them in the cooking process – taking them to the market, getting them to choose the vegetables, letting them help cook.

Everyone in attendance got a copy of the new book called VOLT ink.: Recipes, Stories, Brothers (affiliate link), a hefty tome with some pretty unique takes on familiar dishes. Having no ambition to cook sous vide or deconstruct a clam chowder, I’ll just say, it’s heavy, it’s expensive looking and it’d be an impressive Christmas present for someone.

And the food? Really delicious. Perfectly cooked root vegetables, turkey, bacon & pork, purees and sauces, and an astounding granny smith apple sorbet that was amazingly flavorful.

Thanks to Samsung for inviting me to a great event. Italian cooking at it’s finest, from masters in the kitchen and a leader in “meaningful innovation”

And not a bottle of Ragu in sight.

Tags: bravo, Cooking, Food & Drink, home appliances, ovens, ranges, top chef
Posted in Events, Featured, Food & Drink | 6 Comments »

The Craftsman Experience

Thursday, June 16th, 2011

Since the dawn of time, men have loved to use tools. Sure, some of us know how to use them better than others, but there is something in our DNA that when we pick up a new tool we grunt a bit and ponder what we could do with it.

That is why when Craftsman offered to fly me out and show me a good time playing with tools as part of their Craftsman DIY Blogger Summit I jumped at the chance.

Now, I’ll be honest that I’m not much of a DIY type of guy. I have no problem using tools to build things. In college I built more than one set for the stage and I love the concept of building things, but at the end of the day I’d just rather call in a professional to get something done. I think that is one of the biggest differences between my generation and my dads’s. He knows how to fix everything. He has projects he works on around the house all the time. Me? Not so much.

Due to bad weather and flight delays I ended up arriving in Chicago much later than I expected so the early morning wake up to head over for a day of building came far to early.

I’ve been to a lot of these Blogger Summit/ Press Junket type of events and they are always filled with plenty of company representatives pitching you on products, demos and information sessions and all around making sure you get a head full of corporate speak. Kind of comes with the event right? Just like a timeshare vacation where you get to go someplace new as long as you listen to the pitch.

Guess what? Besides a quick demo of the new line of Nextec tools during lunch, there was almost none of that during this event.

Sure, there were representatives from the brand and their PR Agency on hand who could answer any question, but instead of pitching us, they put us to work using the products rather than talking about them.

We were split into small teams and spent the day stepping through five different do-it-yourself projects. Best part was that each of these stations was dreamed up and taught by a fellow blogger. Where else are you going to be cutting out swords with a band saw with special effect propmaster Holly Conrad one moment and then using a router to cut out a pizza peel with Mike Senese the next?

At the end of the day we munched down on real Chicago deep dish pizza and watched a live taping/streaming of one of their weekly shows. (If you didn’t know they live steam shows four nights a week.) It was a lot of fun and a great way to end the night.

The event ended and we went our seperate ways, with a group of us hitting a sports bar to watch the Stanley Cup Finals game. (Way to go Bruins!!!)

I’ve posted a photo set from the event or you can watch my video slideshow below featuring the music of [munk].

Overall it was a top notch event and it gave me an urge to clean off the work bench in the basement and perhaps do a project or two. Top of mind is a new bench for my daughter to do her crafts on putting to use the sawhorse building we did as a project. I actually drew out the idea when I got home, but haven’t actually let any saw dust fly yet.

Best part was that we went home with a thumb drive containing detailed plans for all the projects we took part in so now I can try not to cut off a finger at home too.

Thanks to the team for putting this together and if you are ever in Chicago I highly recomend swinging by The Craftsman Experience at 233 West Huron Street to check it all out on your own. It is open to the public and who doesn’t want an excuse to play with tools?

Disclosure: Craftsman covered my travel expenses and also allowed us to choose a small tool (I chose this battery charger) in addition to a new drill. Plus a cool wrench bottle opener that works great on cold beers during the hockey playoffs. All opinions expressed are my own.

Tags: craftsman, craftsmandiy, diy, projects, sears, tools, workshop
Posted in Events, Featured | 2 Comments »

NAIAS Spotlight: Ford Motor Company

Monday, January 17th, 2011

The Ford Fiesta Monster Energy Rally Car. (Image: C. Silver)

This past week I was fortunate enough to visit the NAIAS (North American International Motor Show) in Detroit, Michigan. In full disclosure it was on behalf of Ford motor company – they paid for travel and accommodations and drove my ass around. Which explains why this article is all about Ford. However, after walking the show floor at the Detroit auto show (as it’s commonly called) I feel that had I went as an independent observer and not on Fords dime, I still would have looked to them as the best all around presenter and participant at the show.

They were all there. From Toyota to Mini Cooper, to BMW, Porsche, Bentley, Mercedes, Maserati, General Motors, Honda, Hyundai and so on. Clearly the NAIAS is the place to be if you are a major car manufacturer. I had the pleasure of attending the show when it was only open to media nad stakeholders and executives. You could tell who the media were, we were the ones not wearing suits. Jeans and ball caps, ambling around looking for handouts and press kits – most of which were presented on a flash drive – except for Porsche. They gave me a CD. Really guys? It’s the 21st century. Get with it.

It was an amazing experience, and I’m glad to have represented Digital Dads in the process. It’s a new age when a car company invites 100 bloggers from around the world to experience the NAIAS. Bloggers, techies, mom bloggers (and not mom blogging moms,) dad bloggers and Green bloggers. Some of them, professional journos, some like me – not (yet,ahem.) Following are a few of the major highlights from Ford in particular. It was a lot to take in, and there is much more than just what I’m putting down in words here, but you can simply do a Google search and find all the facts. There are facts, then there is experience and interpretation. I’d like to think that’s why I was there, for just this reason.

The Vision of Henry Ford
Back in 1908 as the first Model T rolled off the line, Henry Ford had a vision. We all know the story, the Ford History is embedded in the American lexicon and literature. While cars have evolved, the vision stays the same in my mind. Ford wanted to create an automobile that was affordable, comfortable and constantly evolving. Even though he fought the UAW, that was evolution that was needed as well and brought his company to the efficient industrial complex it is today. It must be noted that Ford was the only American automaker to not take any of the bailout money from the Government in recent years, and is one of the few automakers to devote as much energy and resources to sustainability and the future of the automobile.

While many car makers are pushing out hybrid vehicles, one here one there, Ford is devoting a whole line of cars to the electric and hybrid future – still in line with the vision of the founder – moving towards the future. This was the running theme of their keynote presentation and press conference. Sustainability and “going green” is the future, and Ford is not just handling this change with their cars. They are employing this line of thought within their factories and how they do business. Ford believed that consumerism was the key to peace, and he really wasn’t too far off.

One of the things the Ford Motor Company has done to adhere to the vision of Henry Ford is to keep their vehicles in line with the demands of the consumer. Rather than make vehicles that they particularly want to make such as a luxury car maker, they make vehicles that the consumer needs and wants. Consider the C-Max, the primarily European Ford car that was introduced as a new American model at the show. This car, with it’s electric capabilities (either hybrid or 100% electric) is a perfect vehicle for the European nation because of it’s compact size and hybrid engine. It’s a risk bringing this car to America, where people are still stuck on trucks and large SUV’s. Of course, it should also be noted that the Ford Explorer won best truck at the 2011 NAIAS.

Henry Ford’s vision is alive and well. It also helps that a direct descendant (Bill Ford) is the chairman of the company. Keeping it in the family allows the company to operate within the moral and business standards of it’s founder. This may have had something to do with Ford not taking any of the bailout money handed out to American car companies over the last couple years. Ford realized that this would not help them in the eyes of the consumer, and instead optioned to cut some costs, sell off a division or two (Jaguar) and focus instead on the future of the automobile.

Sustainability for the Future
Recently at CES (Consumer Electronics Show) the current CEO of Ford, Alan Mulally, called Ford “the app of choice for car buyers” as he introduced the C-Max to the American public. With the Ford Sync technology (in partnership with Microsoft) and their MyTouch system, the previous leaders in automotive communications tech (OnStar) look like tape decks in comparison. One might think that all this tech in a car would make driving more distracting, but of course it’s built to do completely the opposite of that.

The C-Max has reached over 13k in sales in Europe, and will most likely directly compete with the Ford Fusion and Focus hybrids when it’s introduced in the United States. Right now Ford is working on creating an infrastructure of charging stations, working with companies such as Microsoft and Mapquest to make it easy for you to find a charging station (outside your garage) using mobile applications being developed. It should be noted that unlike most charging stations for electric cars, the ones sold by Ford will not have to be hard-wired to your house, good news for renters. However, the Ford vehicle that I am most looking forward to is the VerTrek concept. Introduced at NAIAS by Derrick Kuzak, Global V.P. of Global Product Development, the VerTrek is the next gen electric hybrid vehicle, and pretty sweet looking. It boasts a TDCi Diesel EcoBoost engine and regenerative charging.

The new Ford Concept: VerTrek (Image: C. Silver)

As mentioned before, pretty much every car company at the show had some sort of hybrid or electric vehicle. While that is admirable, it seemed to me that only Ford was making the sustainability of electric vehicles a priority of the company, rather than just a side note. This kind of commitment to the future of the environment and industry surrounding it was evident in the way they run their Rouge River plant. From roofs that allow more sunlight and provide solar energy, to the porous cement that filters water runoff to prevent pollution to the Rouge river, Ford is taking a company approach to sustainability. That’s not saying that other car makers aren’t doing the same, I haven’t been to their factories so I can’t speak to it. I’m just noting that the impression I got from Ford was less “hey, look at our new electric car” and more “this is the way we are doing business now.” No other car company at the show even began to give me that impression.

The Venerable, the Dapper Scott Monty
While Ford announced that it will be adding about 7,000 jobs this year (a small fraction of their recent layoffs) there is one man at Ford that probably has the greatest job in the world. This man, is Scott Monty. Scott Monty leads the Global Digital Communications at Ford and was the master of presentation for my trip to Detroit. A constant source of information about Ford, Scott was always on point, good humored and seemed to seriously believe in and love what he does for a living. Ford couldn’t ask for a better social face for their company than Scott Monty. Not even Fake Scott Monty (pictured below center) could compete. Though he sure tried. I tip my virtual top hat to Scott Monty for being an awesome host, never seeming to be annoyed by having to cater to a large group of spoiled bloggers. Fun fact: Scott Monty invented the phrase “tweet-up.” You can follow him on Twitter @scottmonty or officially @ford.

From left: A Ford Exec, The Fake Scott Monty & The Real Scott Monty (Image: @mommasgonecity)

Driving into the Sunset
As aptly stated in their official NAIAS press release, Ford is clearly looking the electric future of driving. “It’s about giving consumers more options for fuel-efficient vehicles of this size and footprint and providing them the power of choice for electrified vehicles, as well,” said Mark Fields, Ford president of The Americas. “Today, a world-class, all-new Focus family joining the new Fiesta lineup is delivering more choice. Now, we’re bringing even more to customers with the versatility of the new C-MAX and three different alternatives for customers who want to save fuel by going electric, offering real choice and more products people really want.”

Which is the feeling that I get from the Ford Motor Company. As someone who is about to enter the arena of searching for a new vehicle, it’s good to see that Ford is stepping up their game to move forward into the future of automobiles. To be fair, most of the car companies at the show had some sort of hybrid car, and the Chevrolet Volt won best car of the whole show, so they aren’t 100% slacking. But for me, when it comes to American automakers, it’s Ford and then it’s every one else. The future is electric, the future is green and sustainable. When you consider those terms in the realm of automobiles, what Ford is hoping is that you’ll be thinking Ford.

Be sure to check out my photo gallery from NAIAS and the #fordgreen Twitter hashtag for all the conversation surrounding Ford’s presence at NAIAS.

Tags: C-Max, Cars, CES, detroit, Explorer, Focus, Ford, Fusion, green, NAIAS, Sustainable, Vertrek, Volt
Posted in Events, Technology | 5 Comments »

Digital Dads at NAIAS in Detroit

Saturday, January 8th, 2011

A Ford Focus. I'll probably see one of those at NAIAS.

While CC is chumming it up at CES (Consumer Electronics Show) in Vegas, Digital Dads (specifically me) will be heading to Detroit early next week for the NAIAS (North American International Auto Show.) Similar to how Kenmore is sponsoring CC’s trip to CES, Ford will be making me their bitch for the auto show.

The focus on the couple days I will be there is on the new Ford line of vehicles and their adherence with being “Green.” Of course I’ll also get to tour the NAIAS show floor before the crowds get there, and as a bonus I get to test drive some of the awesome Ford vehicles.

I’ll be joining about 99 other bloggers and digital media folks on this three day adventure in Detroit. Some of the other folks that will be there (that I know) are Josh (Dadstreet.com and part of the Dadstalking team,) Adam Cohen (Dadarocks.com) and Little Tech Girl Kris Cain. Be sure to follow the hashtag #fordgreen on Twitter for updates from the event and of course me and Ford. Let me know if you are going to be there, and you can buy me a mineral water.

Tags: CES, detroit, Ford, green, NAIAS
Posted in Events, Technology | 1 Comment »

Gro a Mo, Save a Bro

Tuesday, November 2nd, 2010

If you remember, last November I posted about taking part in Movember and I’m doing it again this year.

Movember is a global event that raises awareness and money to fight the cancers that directly effect men. Since we are dedicated to talking about everything guy related of course we’d be covering Movember.

They put together a great series of videos to raise awareness. More on the Movember YouTube Channel.

Now, if you are a guy and your thinking that you can’t grow a mustache right now for any reason, I’m here to tell you that all of them are wrong. I do a lot speaking and business meetings and while it is weird to walk into either with a mustache it is the perfect conversation starter and when you say that you are doing it to fight cancer everyone pays attention. My wife is not a big fan of facial hair, but she knows that it is for a good cause and supports it. (But, she loves when December arrives and I shave even more.)

This year, I’m part of Team Boston and I personally want to raise at least $5,000 in donations from individuals and corporations. I know money can be tough, but honestly every dollar helps so please donate today and then encourage others to do so. I’ve set up a handy URL of http://www.helpingthecause.com which goes directly to my donation page. Feel free to share it far and wide.

I don’t know if we’ll see a cure for cancer in my life time, but I’m hopeful that cures are on the way and I know that fund raising events like Movember are helping to make that happen.

So guys. Consider growing a Mo to help save a Bro! It is only 30 days and I know you can do it.

Tags: Cancer, charity, Movember
Posted in Events, Guy Stuff, Health & Fitness | 4 Comments »

Kenmore Blogger Summit 2010

Friday, August 27th, 2010

Earlier this month, I was flown to Chicago to spend the day with a group of other parenting bloggers to check out all the new things that are going on with the Kenmore line of appliances.

Now, I don’t know about you, but the idea of sitting in a room all day being shown dials and buttons on washers and dryers does not sound all that fun to me. Before this event, that is exactly what I expected it to be because that is all I knew Kenmore was about. We don’t own any of their products and while a quick look at the Kenmore site showed me they made more than just washer and dryers, I still wasn’t sure what to expect.

In full disclosure, roughly twenty of us were flown to Chicago and put up at The Wit Hotel. They did a great job making sure there was a car service to take us to and from the airport and showed us a good time while in town. All of this of course was on Kenmore’s dime (except for the Al’s Italian Beef that I had to sneak out and get while we were in the neighborhood and they forgot to feed us *grin*)

The trip started on an extra high note as I got to the airport and we had been told that we’d be sharing cars with other bloggers arriving at similar times. I didn’t know many of the other people taking part, but there were two that I was really looking forward to finally meeting face-to-face and as the door of the car opened there sat Tanis aka “The Redneck Mommy” in the flesh and I’m ashamed to say we both may have squealed a little bit at this moment. If you haven’t read her site before, she is one of the most blunt honest writers on the Internet and she doesn’t take shit from anyone which is just another reason to love her. By the end of our time in Chicago we had certainly bonded and I have a new friend that I can’t wait to get together again with soon.

In the morning we all jumped on a bus and headed out to Sears HQ. It sits on a massive compound far outside of downtown Chicago so the trip out gave us all time to chat and get to know one another. I sat with Shannon of Whiskey in My Sippy Cup and we talked about our book ideas, life, business and the craziness that is the web. Count her as another new friend that I’m looking forward to causing trouble with in the future.

Once we arrived at Sears, we spent most of the day in a large room surrounded by appliances. They had set up the room to be very open, with snacks, water and everything else to keep us going. They had product managers from all the different divisions give short presentations on how they’ve changed the entire line of Kenmore products over the last few years. I was shocked to see just how much thought, process and dollars had gone into this complete redesign. They started it in 2008 and the process they went through seemed almost overkill for appliances and felt more like the tactics a luxury car company would take. I mean, they went to Milan to find inspiration! Really? Hmm…

But, all that being said the appliances look great. They really wanted the Kenmore brand to have a consistent feel so they went so far as to put the same blue LED lights in all the products, redid the logo and even now have a Kenmore font that is used throughout the products. Personally, when it comes to appliances I am MUCH more interested in the function over the form, but maybe I’m in the minority on that. They did show us their upcoming new touch screen interfaces that will be on their devices and that not only is good looking, but also has lots of great features.

What I did like hearing was how much time they spend talking to current and potential customers. They are constantly showing their products, doing focus groups (we took part in one in the afternoon) and asking for feedback. Even more important, they are listening to what they are hearing and taking it to heart and putting it into practice. For instance, they heard that people didn’t really know how much space “a cubic foot” was when it came to refrigerator capacity, so they filled their newest one with 465 cans of soda since everyone could relate better to that sizing. Part gimmick, part smart. I love it.

Two big things I took away that I didn’t know about before I went was that Kenmore had a line of small appliances and the awesomeness of induction cooking. I guess they’ve always had blenders, food processors and mixers, but I had no idea. Extra points to them for the sleek new black boxes that they are packing these in. They are very modern looking and sexy. I can’t wait to try some of these out in the future.

As for induction cooking, I can’t begin to explain it fully, but lets just say it uses magnets between the stove and the pans to heat up very quickly. Chef Billy Parisi (who did a cooking demo for us) was raving about the technology and the more I talked with him on-on-one, the more convinced I was that I want to try it. I have a feeling it would take some getting use to, but as someone who loves to cook I’m intrigued enough that I want to find someone with one of these ranges in their house who would let me use it in exchange for making them dinner. Anyone?

At the end of the day we were taken over to the Kenmore Live Studio. This state of the art pop up store (that doesn’t sell any products currently) is used to host weekly live events showcasing their products. Going on that night was a Foodie Bloggers vs. Mommy Bloggers Throwdown. They have a multi-camera set up and live in studio audience space and stream these events live on the web. The whole production was top notch and it was a packed house. It was obvious that they committed some serious dollars towards the effort and it seems to be building awareness and great content for the brand on a regular basis, so the marketer in me is psyched for them.

In the end, my worries about being bored held no merit. Kenmore is committed to staking their claim in the appliance world. From talking to people before, during and after the event, I found out I’m in the minority for not owning any of their products. They are constantly improving their products and are committed to listening to customers. That alone is something that every company needs to start doing more of so I’m proud of Sears for making it such a priority.

A special thanks to Rich from Kenmore for making sure that Dads were not forgotten about on this trip and respecting how much we are involved in purchasing and using the types of products they manufacture. Plus, from the first e-mail until the last goodbye he was a down to earth guy who realized it is more about being human than anything else. Plus, like me he likes Tequila!

Do you have opinions about Kenmore? I’d love to hear them since I still haven’t actually used any of their products but I’m sure some of you have.

Disclosure: Cmp.ly/3

Tags: appliances, blogger summit, kenmore, kenmorestylem, sears
Posted in Events, Home & Garden | 6 Comments »

OVO Comes to Boston – Want to Go?

Friday, July 16th, 2010

Many of you probably don’t now that I have a love of the theater. I grew up on stage, have acted in numerous productions and spent even more time behind the scenes producing or stage managing plays and movies.

I love Shakespeare, have seen numerous performances of Rent and own more then one soundtrack from a musical.

I was late on jumping on the Cirque du Soleil bandwagon because I had never had a chance to see a show. That changed a couple of years ago when Steve Coulson and I checked out Love in Vegas and I was blown away. Since then, I’ve become a big fan and love that every show they do is completely unique and inspiring. When I heard that a new production called OVO was coming to Boston I got excited.

About OVO
OVO is a headlong rush into a colorful ecosystem teeming with life, where insects work, eat, crawl, flutter, play, fight and look for love in a non‐stop riot of energy and movement. The insects’ home is a world of biodiversity and beauty filled with noisy action and moments of quiet emotion.

When a mysterious egg appears in their midst, the insects are awestruck and intensely curious about this iconic object that represents the enigma and cycles of their lives. It’s love at first sight when a gawky, quirky insect arrives in this bustling community and a fabulous ladybug catches his eye – and the feeling is mutual.

The name OVO means “egg” in Portuguese. Graphically, OVO hides an insect in its name: The two “O” letter represent the eyes while the letter “V” forms the nose.

The cast of OVO comprises 54 performing artists from 16 countries and director Deborah Colker, a renowned choreographer, has integrated dance movements into many of the acts in the show. It was cool (and a bit surprising) to read that Colker is the first female Director at Cirque du Soleil.

Want To Win Tickets?

Thanks to the official automobile sponsor of Cirque Du Soleil, Infiniti, you have the chance to win a pair of tickets to a special sneak preview performance of OVO.

At Infinit, the intention is to move people emotionally as well as physically so this partnership is a perfect match.

All you have to do to win a pair of tickets is tell us about an “inspired performance” that you have been part of or witnessed. That is a rather open topic, so please have fun with it!

Leave a comment telling us about it or write a post on your own site and link back here in the comments.

On Monday morning we’ll pick two winners who will each win a pair of tickets to the Wednesday, July 21, 2010 performance here in Boston. I’ll be going to the show as well so we’ll be sure to take some pictures to share here on the site with the winners.

Good luck!

Update: This contest is closed as of 11:00 am EST on Monday July 19, 2010

Tags: Cirque du Soleil, infiniti, ovo
Posted in Events | 7 Comments »

Dew Tour – Boston, MA

Monday, June 28th, 2010

This past weekend, Dylan and I got to spend some quality father son time together on the first stop of this years Dew Tour held in Boston.

While neither of us are heavy into the skateboarding world, we both enjoy watching it and when Sony offered us tickets to come on down and check it all out how could we say no?

We arrived early and found all sorts of booths and experiences set up outside of TD Garden. With an extreme sports angle, the variety of what people were offering surprised both of us. Where else would you find the National Guard letting kids ride segways and then just down the way a Paul Mitchell salon doing hair cuts and coloring directly across from a gigantic inflatable Nerf Dart Tag arena?

Sony had three tents set up as well, each with a unique theme that was an instant attraction for Dylan. Inside of one, they had a huge 18 wheeler truck that opened up to have screens and Playstation 3 consoles all along both sides and inside as well. Kids (and parents) could walk up and play some of the newest game releases. Dylan was stuck playing Time Crisis for quite some time and I wasn’t going to complain because the air conditioning felt awesome.

For me, the coolest thing we saw was the new 3D gaming options from Sony. I had to give my license to check out some glasses, but then we got to play and let me tell you that it was amazing. I haven’t been caught up in all the hype over 3D televisions and such, but after playing a couple of games in 3D I instantly got the appeal. I just hope that the glasses are not expensive or it is going to suck for gaming because as you can see in the picture above, watching a game without the glasses sucks. Part of the fun of home gaming is having others be able to watch while some play.

Dylan’s favorite part was being able to play a game of Nerf Dart Tag. Before the tournament started (who knew they had a country wide tournament going on?) they were letting kids go in and setting them up in teams of four to play. It reminded me a lot of speed paintball except with Nerf guns. I got to go in and take pictures while he was playing and it was a lot of fun to watch. Of course I wish they rented the arenas, because it could be a lot of fun to set one of those up at a party!

After spending several hours outside at all the free exhibits we headed in to watch the competition. It was weird to see a half pipe inside of the Boston Garden, but it was a blast to watch. Dylan (and me) were looking forward to seeing Shaun White compete, but he was hurt so we had to settle for watching him get interviewed on the big screen.

All in all we had a great day together and ended it by getting some slices of pizza from Quincy Market before heading home.

The Dew Tour will continue on into the fall with stops in Chicago, Portland, Salt Lake City and ending in Las Vegas. You can buy tickets here as well as find out more information. If you get a chance to go, I highly recommend it!

If you want to see more picture, view my whole Dew Tour set.

Tags: dew tour, dewtour, extreme sports, mountain dew, nerf, nerf dart tag, skateboarding, sony
Posted in Events, Sports, Technology | 2 Comments »

Family Vacations: Atlantis

Saturday, February 13th, 2010

When families think of where to go for a family vacation, places like Disney and the Grand Canyon pop to mind. But, now with the addition of an all new focus on families at The Atlantis Resort, I have a feeling that the calm trade winds of the Bahamas might start coming up as well.

In full disclosure, you should know JetBlue, Lego and Atlantis held a press event known as the Jet Adventure over a weekend in January on site in the Bahamas. They flew me and the family down, put us up and made sure we had a great time on site and got to check out a variety of the activities that Atlantis has to offer for a family vacation. A special thanks to JetBlue who told me originally they were going to call the outing “Jet Mommies” but wanted to be sure dads like me felt welcomed so they changed the name and it was great to see several other dad writers on the trip. Since I’m also an avid photographer you can view my entire photo album online if you’d like.

This was our first time in the Bahamas. I’m not much of a sit on the beach and do nothing all vacation type of guy, so the idea of heading to the islands had never really been on my radar.

I do a lot of flying and have always loved JetBlue as an airline. Their in seat televisions make any flight feel shorter and I value that. The kids of course love it as well because they get to control their own TV and that empowerment keeps them happy. While we flew out of the funky new JFK Terminal 5 in New York, it was good to see so many direct flights to the Bahamas on JetBlue. It is a quick 3 hour flight from New England.

As we rode the hotel shuttle from the airport to the resort, I took in how blue the water was and how colorful all the buildings are. Instantly I wanted to take out my camera and go on a photowalk around the town center to capture all the faces and culture that it had to offer. We wouldn’t have time on this trip for that, but just from driving through it I could feel a vibrant energy that you should make time to take in when you visit.

I can confirm that Atlantis is as beautiful and majestic as it looks in all the commercials. From the Pegasus filled fountains in the main entrance, down to the littlest light fixture in the hallways, they want it to be an experience. In fact the entire grounds are absolutely beautiful with lots of nooks and cranny’s to explore. One morning we got up early and just walked around before most of the resort woke up. We even filmed an episode of Emily Explains It that morning on the beach.

They play up the Atlantis theme everywhere. This is done in grand fashion in The Dig which is a series of caves, rooms and tunnels all surrounded by massive fish tanks and an amazing variety of sea life. Make sure to explore it at night and during the day because the experience is very different and equally impressive. We had a guided tour which was great so that we could learn about all the different fish we were seeing swimming among the ruins. Seeing the fish that close up and in such a large tank was something the kids, or I, won’t soon forget.

Everywhere you look is water. Make sure to take a walk to get to an actual beach instead of only hanging out by one of the many pools. Also, be sure to check out the many little lagoons and other water areas to look at the water life. On the way to breakfast one morning an Eagle Ray came up and “waved” to us.

For families there are pools with varying depths of water which make it great to just let the kids play in one of the shallow pools while you watch from a nearby deck chair. Towels are provided for you for free and there are lockers to put your stuff in while you enjoy the sunshine. There are plenty of little snack shacks everywhere to fuel your munchies. Just be sure not to forget to try the conch fritters!

Built into the resort is a top notch water park. It isn’t separated, but rather integrated right along side the fish and the fun. With both a lazy river that takes about an hour and a more fast paced rapid river that runs about thirty minutes, both river rides are something to enjoy with the kids. Emily and Dylan both loved the rapids and we enjoyed them more then once. The water slides will appeal to every age with short little ones for toddlers all the way up to an almost vertical plunge that actually flies through the shark tank before dumping you out at the end.

If you like water slides, the one not to miss starts in one of the temples and you ride in a tube down through a few swirls but then proceed slowly through the shark tank. Cruising along at a gentle pace and having sharks and other fish swim by you on the other side of glass is an amazing feeling. If you go to Atlantis you can’t miss this above all else. Kids of all ages will enjoy it. I promise.

The Atlantis Kids Adventure was the main reason we were brought down to the resort and it is nothing short of a kid wonderland. Parents are not allowed (although we were of course) and the goal is that you drop the kids off for a half day block of time and they can take part in a variety of experiences while you have some quality parent time. With rooms dedicate to crafts, cooking, video games and even a grocery store there is something for every kid. They have a secured check in so there are no worries about the safety of your kids and the staff were overly friendly and helpful. It was obvious that they were ready to take care of the kids and make sure they had a good time.

In addition to the AKA there are other fun activities for the kids to take part in. Our kids got to make their own stuffed animal at Atlantis Pals, build and race their own cars at the Atlantis Speedway and painted their own pottery at the Earth & Fire Pottery Studio. The parents all got to try these out as well and all of them were more fun then I imagined.

The highlight of the entire experience for all of us and something you should not miss out on is swimming with the dolphins. I had done this before at Discovery Cove and can say that the second time around it is still an amazing activity. The entire family loved the experience and if I were to ask the kids about it right now I’m sure they’d get a big grin on their faces. Even if you don’t have the time or money to swim with them, be sure to at least swing by the Dolphin Cay to watch them at any time during the day for free.

Lego was involved in this trip because this summer your kids can begin attending Lego Fantasy Camp on site at Atlantis. We were even accompanied by a Master Lego Builder to celebrate the launch. He traveled with us on the plane and had projects for the kids to do. Dylan is a huge Lego fan and Emily enjoyed it too. I hope they keep the scavenger hunt that we took part in as part of the experience at the resort because it forced us to check out locations that we might not have gone to including the Atlantis Library.

The trip exposed us to the variety of buffets that the resort offers. There are also a variety of sit down restaurants such as Bobby Flay’s Mesa Grill (which Emily & I really wanted to check out), but none of them were on the itinerary so I can’t speak to how good they are. Your kids will not have any problem finding food to eat. There is plenty of options that they will recognize and love.

Personally, I was severely disappointed in the lack of fresh seafood and local flavors at the buffets. We did sneak away one lunch to check out Mosaic in The Cove section of the resort and it was the best meal we had during the entire trip including a made to order bowl of seafood soup that left me with a perma-grin on my face. The food is not cheap, but they do offer a variety of dining plans that you will want to look into for sure.

While Atlantis has certainly transformed from an adults only escape to a family friendly environment they do have a few things that I hope they change moving forward. All of the pools close at 5pm which is far to early. If I were to spend the money to have a night alone from the kids, I want to be able to take a dip in the pool. In addition, while the grounds are beautiful, the pool areas are not kept as clean as I had hoped for. Cups, napkins and other snack remains could be seen floating on the edge of most of the pools and under the deck chairs everywhere. The seagulls certainly don’t go hungry.

Finally, this is not a cheap vacation, but neither is a full on Disney experience or other resorts. As with any family vacation I suggest you look for package deals and special trips to save money. Upon return, I’ve been seeing banner ads for Atlantis everywhere offering special deals so be sure to take advantage of those.

Atlantis is not an all inclusive resort and there are no options really to get food and bring it in so you have to pay the high prices for everything on site. The resort is invisibly sliced into different price points meaning on one end is the most value and on the other the most expensive. As with any vacation, be sure to do your research before leaving so that you are fully aware of what to expect before arriving on site.

The resort is top notch and we had an excellent time. We loved the weather and enjoyed that while we were told it was a busy time of year for the resort, it never felt over filled or as if there were too many people there. Because of just how vast the resort is, there is plenty of room for everyone.

Everything shared here is one family’s experience of this trip. If you’d like to read some other review from people on the same trip I was on then check out the reviews posted on Yummy Mummy, Boston Mamas, Cool Mom Picks and The Mother of All Trips.

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Tags: atlantis, bahamas, destinations, family vacation, jetadventure, jetblue, lego, lego camp, Travel
Posted in Events, Travel | 9 Comments »

Digital_Nation

Tuesday, June 9th, 2009

A few weeks ago I got invited to attend a special event here in Boston at WGBH for a preview of FRONTLINE’s Digital Nation – an upcoming documentary that will explore how the Web and digital media are changing the way we think, work, learn, and interact. The producer, Rachel Dretzin was on hand and we had a great conversation about how the ever changing digital world is effecting everything around us.

This was the first event I’ve ever been invited to on behalf of being a “daddy blogger” which was a trippy thing all by itself. Guess I better get use to it huh?

We got to watch some scenes from the documentary and then had a healthy debate/discussion around a variety of topics. Besides fellow parenting bloggers, there were also people from various levels of school administrations from around the area. It was amazing to listen to different perspectives on how technology is helping our kids in school and fundamentally changing the way they learn.

This documentary is playing out in a very different format then most. It won’t air until January of 2010 but you can watch pieces of it online right now and even contribute to it in a special section where anyone can tell their story. You should consider submitting something. I know I am planning on it.

I’m really excited to follow along in the coming months and to see how it all comes together in the end. With only an hour to tell the story I don’t see how they can even begin to cover it all, but I’m sure it will be full of great content.

I took some photos at the event and got to chat with the producer for a few minutes while meeting some great people at the same time.