10 things your kids will never experience in a new car

I can identify with all of these.

My dream, my kid's reality?

The AirVenture show in Oshkosh is going on right now, and one of the stars of the show is WhiteKnight Two, the mother ship for the first commercial trip to space. If you have the cash. Making a trip to outer space has always been a dream of mine, and right now it's a race between technology and cost and my age. However, the pieces are being put in place that may make it common place for my kids.

One of those pieces is Virgin Galactic and the combination of WhiteKnight Two and SpaceShip Two. WhiteKnight Two carries SpaceShip Two up to 50,000 ft, where it is released and rockets up on a sub-orbital trajectory. Virgin Galactic does the job of advertising, selling tickets and fronting the money. Whatever - I just wish I could be there. But those tickets are several years worth of salary.

Anyway, I can still dream and if you want to dream along with me these articles should help. First, an interview with the test pilot of WhiteKnightTwo. Next, some shots inside the cockpit. Finally, here's the video of SpaceShipOne, winner the Ansari X Prize.

Mixing Science and Politics

It rarely works - and here's a good example.

This article is unexceptional except that it demonstrates my point. Let's start with the title, "
British crayfish get a 'safe haven' from American invaders and a fungus that eats them from the inside out". Simple enough, but we've already set up the good guys (British Crayfish) and the bad guys (American invaders). Sounds like American Imperialism even reaches down to the lowest of life forms. I'd really like to meet the guy at the CIA who was in charge of the crayfish invasion program.

Anyway, on to the meat of the story. Here are the first two paragraphs.

Looking for crayfish in Britain? Look hard. Almost 95 percent of British crayfish have been wiped out in the last 20 years. Now some of the few remaining crustaceans are going into hiding in a desperate, last-gasp chance to save their species from extinction.

Like so many problems around the world, this one can be placed squarely on the heads of Americans—although in this case, we're talking about American signal crayfish (Pacifastacus leniusculus). First introduced to Britain two decades ago as food for trout farms, American crayfish have made their way into the wild. They not only outcompete the local white-clawed crayfish (Austropotamobius pallipes) for food, but they also carry crayfish plague (Aphanomyces astaci), a water mold that is deadly to the British crayfish.

I am left scratching my head why a writer in Scientific American, which you would think would be about, I don't know, science and maybe America is making such grandiose political statements. Look at the bold highlight I added. Is this really necessary for the story? What's worse is that the data does not support the conclusion. In the following sentence we learn that the British introduced the American species of crayfish. They did it to themselves!

I'm sorry, but as a proud American stories like this rub me the wrong way. All he had to do was objectively lay out the facts, and instead he has to ruin the story for many readers by maligning our country. Of course, I imagine there were plenty of readers who read right through that agreeing with every sentiment. But as far as I'm concerned you are better off keeping your science separated from your politics. There is no need to do it, and it will make a good story more enjoyable for everyone.

Crowdsourcing Wii Fit

We got Wii Fit back in April, and I have been using it ever since. If you aren't familiar with it, you get a balance board which senses your weight and how you move, and a game with a bunch of exercises and mini-games designed to help you get in shape. It will chart your progress over time, allow you to set goals, and keep track of your BMI (whether that is a good indicator of your health is another matter). As you start out you only have access to some basic exercises and games, but as you work on it you unlock other games and more advanced levels.

And, that is where the problem lies. Once you have unlocked all the content, the only incentive remaining is (hopefully) watching your BMI drop. Or not. Anyway, after a while doing the same old routines gets boring which is why Nintendo needs to crowd source it.

For example, one of the aerobic exercises is rhythm boxing. There is a basic level and an advanced level. You have a trainer who shows you a series of punches, and then you copy the pattern. But, you do the same set of patterns over and over and over. There are no new ones. They do not vary. You get the same annoying music. Now, imagine if you could create your own boxing routines. You could create your own patterns of punches and then put them together in creative ways. Upload your new routine so that others can download it and use it and voila! Wii Fit is fresh and fun again. You could rate the routines by difficulty and enjoyment so that the best ones rise to the top. And, hopefully, everyone gets fit.

They could do this for step aerobics, jogging, and boxing. It would also be nice if you could string together a series of exercises in the strength and yoga areas so that you don't have to keep jumping out to the main screen each time. People could upload their workout regimens so that others could benefit.

But, the chances of Nintendo doing this are just about nil, so I will just continue dreaming.

The Digital Age Dad

Are you a dad? Can you remember a time when you weren't carrying around a computer in your pocket that has more power than the one in the Apollo Lunar Command Module? Our kids won't. They will not experience life without the internet, without always being connected to their friends, without instant access to the world's knowledge. This shift in information availability is a direct result of the digital revolution, and as dad's we have to be a part of it if we are going to help our kids deal with it. So, here's a blog to help me and to help you.