Archives for August, 2007
Posted on 08 29, 2007 under Master Debaters by
wahoodad |
After taking a break for the summer, my friend’s babysitter sent her an e-mail about sitting during the upcoming school year. Citing “an increase in the minimum wage” and car payments pending receipt of her driver’s license, the babysitter informed my friend that her rate was going from $7 an hour to $10 an hour (my friend has two kids, ages 7 and 4). Additionally, the babysitter said that because she opts to baby-sit instead of getting a job at a store where her shifts would be guaranteed, my friend would have to pay her for her scheduled time if for some reason my friend had to cancel the babysitter’s shift.
“What stones!” you say. “Cut her loose!” In the immortal words of College Game Day’s Ticonderoga-tapping Lee Corso, “Not so fast!” My friend’s girls don’t do so well with transition, she trusts the babysitter, and the girls really like her.
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Posted on 08 28, 2007 under Doodads by
cgillis |
The children in our household learned to surf the web before the age of five so I was not terribly surprised to find that they developed a level of sophistication that surpassed my own at the same age. This is progress. They seem a lot smarter than I was. Their little tastes and preferences seem much more refined. Maybe too refined. Take animation for example.
For $1.99 I recently downloaded Pixar’s short animated film One Man Band. My son has now seen this video about 100 times. The good people of Pixar, in their quest to develop incredibly realistic films, have raised the threshold of animation. One Man Band is perfect: wonderful animation, great music and a very amusing storyline. The boys love everything Pixar produces. One day I decided to test them, similar to the way in which one might try to test a top chef by substituting his foie gras with bologna. One day instead of Pixar’s shiny new animated feature I loaded a Popeye the Sailor cartoon; one that was clumsily crafted during the Eisenhower administration.
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Posted on 08 23, 2007 under Press by
wahoodad |
You wouldn’t know it by some of the commentary on noodad.com this week, but when they aren’t stirring up hornets’ nests on dance studio owners’ Web site message boards or fondling their iPhones, our faithful leaders Noodad and Foodad actually look for ways to make the world a better place. Case in point, The Boston Marathon® Jimmy Fund Walk 2006. When I approached Greg and Mike about sponsoring a team and participating in the walk, they couldn’t have been more supportive. Greg met us bright and early in Hopkinton ready to take on the course, and raised a bunch of cash. Mike donated to The Jimmy Fund and sought out Team Noodad.com on the route to snap the official team photo. (I’m not sure why Mike didn’t walk, but I thing Greg said something about him taking shrapnel during the Invasion of Grenada.) This year, the consummate do-gooders are jumping into the fray once more.
On September 16, 2007, a bigger, bolder Team Noodad.com is going to help out with the fight against cancer by participating in the Boston Marathon® Jimmy Fund Walk. That’s right, Team Noodad.com is going to lace ‘em up again and drag our atrophied bodies over every last inch of the famed 26.2 mile Boston Marathon route to raise money for the Jimmy Fund and the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Here’s how you can help:
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Posted on 08 20, 2007 under The Manual by
foodad |
Description
As the CFO, Chief Fathering Officer, of Your Family, in your town, your state, you will leverage a myriad of professional, social and technical skills to support a potentially growing roster of dependents. You will lead projects in home repair, child discipline and directly support toilet training initiatives. You will continue to excel in your current job and will be directly responsible for putting together a plan to secure the organization's future physically, mentally and financially. This C-level role will put you in a lead consulting position with some of the global leaders in strategic misbehaving.
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Posted on 08 17, 2007 under Press by
Noodad |
If you haven't heard about the toy recall by Fisher Price and Mattel in last couple of weeks, then I suggest you go here .
Bob Eckert, the CEO of Mattel, Inc. has sent out an email to parents and concerned anti-lead enthusiasts. The letter (shown after the jump) basically says this:
We're sorry. We're just as pissed off that it went down this way. We love your kids (not in a creepy way) and we hope this line about "Your children are our children" will make you still buy a crapload of toys from us this Christmas.
What it fails to say is: We realize that snatching away the toys that your kids cannot live without is a pain in the rear but trust us, you don't want lead in their system. So we are prepared to just give you replacement toys before you send them back to us.
My wife and I have decided to slowly "lose" these toys in a month long phase out. I remember when I had to give back my Lead paint laced Voltron when I was a kid and that sucked royally. Besides the plastic replacement didn't shoot out the cats as nicely.
What do you think?
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Posted on 08 13, 2007 under Doodads by
reviewdad |
Kicks. Caps. T-shirts. Watches. We’re not that complex. I’m generalizing here but I feel pretty confident in saying that for those of us who care (read: obsess), these are the aspects of our wardrobe that we passionately care most about.
You know how hard you work to find that T-shirt or cap that you believe that no one else you’ll encounter in your daily life will have? You do it because you value individuality. You also have style. Should your kid have it any differently? You dress him or her…so it’s on you to be sure they represent.
That’s why we’re a big fan of RileyRoos baby shoes from a little company in Maryland of the same name. RileyRoos are proof that shoes that stay on babies feet do not need to look like miniature surgical slippers. They’re the anti-Robeez…and thank god for that!
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Posted on 08 09, 2007 under Press by
Noodad |
It's amazing what people are willing to share with you via email. These pictures came in my inbox just this morning. Another warning to remind people, Scissors are bad. Forks are too. (Warning: second picture after the jump is not for the weak stomached)
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Posted on 08 09, 2007 under Doodads by
dadagain |
This is a multi-sensory program that introduces children to a “hands
on” second language. It’s natural and fun for them to use their bodies
to communicate. Research shows this may enhance speaking, spelling, and
reading skills, reduce frustration and tantrums and increase bonding
with parents.
When faced with the inordinate amount of DVDs to choose from for your
kids to watch, it can be a pretty daunting selection. Here is where
Signing Time comes into play.
This is an educational DVD series that is actually pretty fun. I tested Volume 6, “My Favorite
Things”. This volume teaches hand sign language to kids for simple words: colors,
fruits and vegetables, and activities. (Red, Yellow, Blue, Carrot, Corn
etc)
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Posted on 08 08, 2007 under Current Events by
foodad |
Let me just start by saying that I am not some hippy, tree hugging, make-love-not-war guy. I understand why someone would want to own a weapon. The second amendment to the Constitution of the United States ensures us all the right to bear arms. And whether you are of the belief that "guns kill people" or "people kill people" the fact that even one person owns a gun ensures that someone else is going to want to own a bigger gun in order to keep the other in check.
I read the news. I see what guns do
I have never felt compelled to own a weapon of my own.
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Posted on 08 06, 2007 under The Manual by
foodad |
[foodad's note:] Guest columnist Sue from dance.net and more importantly danceart.com is here to help educate clueless noodads about how to select a dance studio, why some of their policies are in place and how the business works. Our original post was picked up by dance.net and sort of turned into a flame war of noodads versus dance instructors. In the end, we all agreed that Noodad, Foodad and our hundreds of thousands of dedicated readers needed to be eductated by these professionals so that we could make more informated decisions. Take it away Sue! Can we call you Suedad? Just kiddin…
Besides the obvious, like a convenient location, class time and plenty of parking there are some things you should look for in a dance studio that you might not have thought about. First and foremost: teacher qualification. They should have some sort of training in dance education. There is no special license required to open a dance school. Anyone can open a studio if they have the finances. Having taken dance classes does not necessarily mean one is prepared to teach.
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