Home Automation and Remote Controls are cool. Really cool. Think back to the days of The Clapper (which you can still buy, by the way). Clap on, clap off. We have come a long way though. Now we have Internet-connected gadgets, gizmos, appliances and devices, hopefully all designed to make our lives easier, safer or simply better. The Belkin WeMo is a perfect example of how this Home Automation technology has evolved to become mobile and programmatic.

Recently I hooked up a Belkin WeMo Switch and Motion Detector in my home. Before I go into the details of that process, I have to say that I’m a guy who hated when I saw a VCR (remember those?) with a blinking clock. I’m all about programming and using technology ahead of time or setting it up to make what you are currently doing better. I have placed wireless remotes for lamps around the house. I obviously set up shows to record on my DVR. I even automate a little bit of my social media sharing (not much, mind you). There are tasks that you can automate that can save you a few minutes during your hectic day here and there. That is what automation (and remote controls) are all about. And with all of this different technology, it allows us to be a bit more lazy (in a good way, hopefully).

Let’s start with what the WeMo is. It’s a device that you connect to your home WiFi network and to an electrical device that you want to control whether it is on or off. Once you set up your connection (which I will go into later), you use your mobile phone with the WeMo app, to turn on or off that electrical device. Let’s say you have a lamp connected to the WeMo plug, from another room or across the globe, once you have everything connected, you can turn that lamp on or off at will. Pretty handy, right?

But with the WeMo app, you can actually do more. You can set schedules for when you want the device to automatically go on or off and the duration you want your device on. That’s pretty basic stuff, right? Well that is just the beginning. There is a whole lot more that you can do, especially if you add the Motion Detector into the mix.

The Motion Detector is small and unobtrusive. It plugs into an electrical socket as well, and you do need to connected it to your WiFi network as well in order to make the Switch and Remote work with it. But once you have them all paired up, you can start to get creative. Let’s take my example of controlling a lamp. I had set up a schedule for when it should go on or off and how long it should be on.

When you add in the motion detection process, you get even more control. I have my lamp set to only go on during a particular time (night time), only stay on for a few minutes, but only to go on when it detects motion. So, during the day, even if the Motion Detector senses motion, the light won’t go on. I put this particular solution by my front door so that my family isn’t stumbling around in the dark when they come home or leave at night.

With just the Switch and Motion Detector, you can come up with a ton of really interesting automation solutions. Perhaps you want to have your toaster toast some bread when you walk into the kitchen but you only want to do it in the morning. You can set a schedule for when you want the toaster on, put the bread in the night before, set up the motion detector to sense movement when you come into the kitchen and enjoy toast minutes after you walk into the kitchen in the morning. (Just be sure that you don’t burn down your house – you might want to try a different type of automation that doesn’t involve cooking!)

Wait! There’s more! If you think about it, the scripting that I mentioned above is pretty elementary. Yes, it does go beyond a simple remote control or timer. But the WeMo can do a whole lot more. There is a fantastic site (that I have used for a year or so now) called If This Then That (iFTTT.com) which is a service that you should sign up for even if you don’t have a WeMo. iFTTT essentially let’s you string together a series of commands, scripts, actions, triggers and services in the form of a recipe. Here are the top iFTTT recipes currently:

There are an incredible amount of iFTTT recipes out there and more are created daily. You just need to think creatively on ways that it can be helpful for you. Since iFTTT is so hot right now, Belkin appropriately took advantage of it and integrated it into the WeMo, allowing you to craft some truly innovative scripts, well beyond what comes in just the device itself. Here are a few WeMo-specific recipes that I found particularly interesting:

• Turn your lights on automatically when the sun sets (sunset times change, remember)
• If WeMo turns on, text me (nice if tied with the motion detector)
• When I check in on Foursquare at “home,” turn on my WeMo
• Log electricity usage

Pretty neat, right? There is a tumblr site set up that highlights some of the creative ones. Perhaps you have an automatic feeder for some hamsters. You could tie the electric feeder to a WeMo switch and when people send a text message to a particular account, it could trigger the feeder (and perhaps a webcam). I’m just making this up to show you the potential power.

The iFTTT integration was truly smart by Belkin. And super easy (and relatively secure) to set up. You need to have an iFTTT account. Then you just create a temporary pin and enable your WeMo devices:

Enabling the WeMo devices is just a click or two:

Then you can start writing or using other people’s recipes.

The Setup

I’m not going to walk through all of the steps of setting up your WeMo devices but I will provide a little bit of insight into the process, mainly because I found the included documentation to be a bit sparse and finding more details online didn’t help to much either.

To save you some searching, here are the links for setting up your WeMo devices:

• Using an iOS device
• Using an Android device

Here are the basic steps:

1. Download an install either the iOS or Android application (both are free).
2. Plug in your WeMo device(s) to an AC Outlet.
3. Go to your WiFi settings, look for the WeMo Network and connect to it.
4. Start up the WeMo App and select your home/business WiFi that you want your WeMo connected to.
5. Once the WeMo connects to your WiFi, your iOS/Android device will be disconnected. Connect to your usual WiFi network. NOTE: if you have multiple WiFi networks at home, be sure you select the one that you selected within your WeMo settings!
6. Once connected, within the WeMo app, you can customize your WeMo devices.

Another note: One thing that bothered me a bit (and perhaps it has been corrected via firmware) is that you can’t connect the WeMo to a WiFi Network that has a space or special character in the network password. I had to remove the space from one of my WiFi network passwords in order to complete my setup.

Once you have it set up and connected, you will be able to update the firmware on your WeMo devices via the iOS or Android application.

HighTechDad Ratings

The Belkin WeMo Switch and Motion Detector are a great pair of technology gadgets. The ability to script, program and remotely or automatically trigger a variety of actions to turn items on or off makes the WeMo a compelling device to have at your home or business. Coupled with the built-in programmability and now with the iFTTT recipes, you can craft a potentially limitless amount of actions for controlling your power. The WeMo Switch and Motion Detector retail for $79.99 and you can pick up this pair of controllers on Amazon currently for about $65 as well (you might be able to save on shipping and tax, at least for now, via Amazon).

After a bit of back and forth, I was able to set the WeMo up fairly easily. Once you have it programmed, you can just let it be, or you can be adventurous and come up with some creative scripting to control it. I wouldn’t give it to my kids to program but they could definitely easily use it to turn on and off lights. The price point is reasonable (but watch for sales as well).

EASY TO GEEK FACTOR – is the device easy to get up and running

FAMILY FRIENDLY – does the device fit well into family environments

RECOMMENDABILITY– would I recommend it to others (more means “yes”)

PRICE POINT – does the price reflect the product function

OVERALL – my general rating

If you enjoy home automation, I believe that the Belkin WeMo represents the next generation, especially with the integration of iFTTT scripting.

Disclosure Text : I have a material connection because I received a gift or sample of a product for consideration in preparing to write this content. I was/am not expected to return this item or gift after my review period. All opinions within this article are my own. More information can be found in my About page as well as here.

HTD says: The Belkin WeMo is home automation redesigned in a fun and useful way.

The post Remote, Programmatic Home Automation at its Best – the Belkin WeMo appeared first on HighTechDad.

If you look up into the sky, assuming it’s sunny and daytime, you will see a vast energy source that is incredibly untapped – the sun. Solar power technologies have been evolving a break-neck speeds and the size and costs have been reduced dramatically to the point where you can throw a solar panel, charger and battery into your backpack and never worry about plugging your smartphone or tablet into the wall again. The WakaWaka Power, is no exception. This small device, in my opinion, is critical to have for camping trips or in your emergency kit or just quietly charging in a sunny windows somewhere.

WakaWaka Power – Lights on

I actually really like this little “gadget helper” for a variety of reasons. Let’s start with the name, “WakaWaka” which means “shine bright” in Swahili. WakaWaka is created by Off-Grid Solutions (OGS) which is a company that develops and manufactures solar-based portable charging and lighting solutions. They got their start via a Kickstarter.com initiative (which raised over $419,000 – 838% over their initial $50,000 funding request) and are now a global brand. In fact, in 2012 they made it their mission to deliver 1 million WakaWaka’s worldwide as part of a pledge to the Clinton Global Initiative.

WakaWaka Power – packaging

But OGS and WakaWaka haven’t stopped there. For every WakaWaka Power charger that they sell, they are donating $10 to the WakaWaka Foundation which has been set up to finance entrepreneurial education, micro-loans to women energy entrepreneurs and also subsidies for poor countries like Haiti, Nepal, Nigeria, India and others. One of their goals is to replace dangerous, expensive and polluting kerosene lamps with their solar-powered solutions. You can read more about their mission here. With initiatives and dreams like this, what is there NOT to like?!

It would be one thing to be a champion of the impoverished or under-privileged and try to sell a shoddy product to finance that. But let me say this, from my testing, the WakaWaka Power is solid, well-designed, and incredibly useful to have. While there isn’t a huge amount of functionality built into the WakaWaka Power, it has enough compelling features to make it a worthy product to have.

Let’s take a look at the features of the WakaWaka Power. For starters and most obviously, it is solar powered. The entire back of it is a solar panel.

WakaWaka Power – Solar Panel

From a size perspective, it isn’t much taller (a bit wider though) than a smart phone, although there are some smart phones that are almost the same size nowadays. It is about 4.8″ high by 4″ wide by 0.8″ thick and it only weighs about 7 oz. With the solar panel facing up, it is water resistant but they don’t recommend exposing it to water on the other side. It feels quite durable and I feel that it could withstand quite a bit of abuse.

The front, when closed, almost to me looks like a little face. The two “eyes” are actually light bulbs, the “nose” is a convenient hole (and large power button) that you can use in many ways like put over a bottle to hold the WakaWaka up, and the “mouth” is the main hinge.

WakaWaka Power – folded

When the WakaWaka is closed, you can use it as a flashlight. And let me tell you, this light is blinding. It has 4 light modes of differing intensity (and battery consumption) and has an SOS mode that you can automatically activate.

WakaWaka Power – folded & lights on

While the most environmentally-friendly way to charge the internal battery of the WakaWaka is to use the built in solar panel, they realized that there isn’t always a bright, shinning fire-y orb in the sky. So, built into the WakaWaka Power is a micro-USB charger that you can use to charge up the internal battery using your smartphone charger in about 2 hours. You can see it in the middle of the side in the picture below.

WakaWaka Power – micro-USB

If you want to charge a smartphone or tablet, on the other side of the WakaWaka Power is a regular USB port where you can connect your energy-thirsty gadget and charge it fully in a matter of hours.

WakaWaka Power – USB

And you can see that the innovative design uses the cover to create a stand which is adjustable. You can pivot the lighting up (see the above picture) or pivot it down easily for reading (see the picture below).

WakaWaka Power – standing

On the top, there is a set of LED lights that indicate either the charge level or the battery level (green or blue lights respectively).

HighTechDad Ratings

The WakaWaka Power has a price of $79 and you can buy it directly from their site here. You can also pick up the WakaWaka Power on Amazon for $65. Remember that $10 of your purchase (whether directly or via Amazon) goes to the WakaWaka Foundation. The WakaWaka Power comes in either black or yellow. They do have flashlight-only solutions as well. The WakaWaka Power with the micro-USB charger but you can use one that you may have with your smartphone. Of course, you can always charge using the sun, what WakaWaka’s tag line refers to – “share the sun.” There is absolutely no confusion as to how to use the WakaWaka Power which makes it useful by all members of the family and the price point is reasonable. I view it as one of those family essentials to have handy at all times.

EASY TO GEEK FACTOR – is the device easy to get up and running

FAMILY FRIENDLY – does the device fit well into family environments

RECOMMENDABILITY– would I recommend it to others (more means “yes”)

PRICE POINT – does the price reflect the product function

OVERALL – my general rating

If you are looking for a solar powered charger for your devices, be sure to put the WakaWaka Power at the top of your list. It simply works, it’s got a useful design and the company seems to have some grand ideas to fulfill.

Disclosure Text : I have a material connection because I received a gift or sample of a product for consideration in preparing to write this content. I was/am not expected to return this item or gift after my review period. All opinions within this article are my own. More information can be found in my About page as well as here.

HTD says: Harness the power of the sun for your mobile devices with the WakaWaka Power.

The post Using the Sun to Power your Gadgets & Light the Way – WAKAWAKA POWER appeared first on HighTechDad.

You should all know by now that the cloud is here to stay. It may be in one form or another and in various flavors (infrastructure, platform or application) and it may not be called “cloud” in a few years, but the concept of on-demand, pay-as-you-go, Internet-delivery, scalable, as-a-service functionality will persist. It’s efficient, it’s cost effective and it is becoming better each and every day. However, when it comes to choosing a cloud provider, there are several things that you or your business should seriously think about before plunking down your credit card and signing up for a service.

Before evaluating a cloud provider, you need to think about exactly what you are trying to accomplish. Are you looking to replace an aging CRM system? Think about a SaaS provider. Want to enable your developers to code in whatever language they want and publish to a managed system? Consider a cloud platform offering. Or do you want to replace your data center so that you can take advantage of the scalability and cost-control that is built into the cloud? Then cloud infrastructure might be for you.

Also, depending on your organization’s needs, you may need a mixture of cloud services and that may result in having a variety of cloud providers. Just a little word of warning, while there are many standards emerging, not all cloud services are alike and just the way you would have to work on system integration with physical environments, you will have to do the same with clouds. You may have to work with different APIs or have to map business processes from one system to another. It can definitely get confusing.

But once you have focused down and identified your needs, you need to compile and short list some cloud providers. Listed below is a series of considerations when evaluating and choosing a cloud provider. Often it is hard to generalize when you span cloud types. But just the same way that clouds in general have common characteristics, your selection process should have similar requirements.

This is Part 1 of a two part blog series. Part 2 will be available next week.

14 Things to Consider When Choosing a Cloud Provider

First of all, these are NOT in any kind of order other than how they popped into my head. However, you might want to take this list and figure out what are the most important to your business. There are, I’m sure, plenty of things that are classified as Must-Have, Nice-to-Have and Not Important. Be sure to think it through before signing on the bottom line.

Here’s the list with details that follow:

1. Performance
2. Breadth of Service Offering
3. Ease of Use
4. Price
5. Support
6. SLA
7. Security
8. Control (Part 2)
9. Reliability (Part 2)
10. Reach (Part 2)
11. Standardization (Part 2)
12. Expertise (Part 2)
13. Company Accessibility (Part 2)
14. Flexibility (Part 2)

Let’s look at the details of the first 7 items.

1) Performance

This is almost a no-brainer. You want a cloud that has good performance, otherwise, you will lose business or customers and end up beating your head on the desk every time your application or site sputters along. The problem is, there are not many places that benchmark cloud services. It is easier to benchmark on the platform or infrastructure layer, but more difficult on the application side. And, depending on how you are using these sites, “your performance may vary.”

The best thing to do is to see if you can get a trial account. And try to see if you can test an environment that is similar to what you desire to use. Don’t test an extra small server, for example, if you are planning on running a Big Data cluster on extra-large servers. Again, I’m stating the obvious. Bottom line, be sure to test it out.

2) Breadth of Service Offering

This really depends on the type of cloud you want to use. If you are looking at SaaS, you will have to simply do a feature comparison and many SaaS companies offer comparison matrices against who they feel to be their primary competitors. A hint here, if you can’t do a 30-day trial, look for product demos, webinars or videos that show you the product in action.

If, however, you are looking at the platform or infrastructure level, the comparisons may be a bit more difficult. There are plenty of PaaS companies that focus on doing one (or two) things extremely well, while others tend to have wider capabilities. On the IaaS side, you may only be interested in raw compute, storage and networking. But vendors do vary so get that checklist out and ensure that your shortlist meets your needs.

3) Ease of Use

This also depends on who you are getting the cloud for. If it is simply developers or programmers, having complexity by means of lots of functionality, might be ok. If the feature set is so huge that it verges on overwhelming, be sure that the cloud provider has good documentation and/or support (and that you won’t be paying a fortune on Support or Professional Services). If, however, you are catering toward a non-technical end user or a wider variety of users, you may have more emphasis on the cloud solution being a bit easier to use. Know who your audience is and cater to their abilities and preferences.

4) Price

When it comes down to it, price always seems to be at the top of the list when selection priorities emerge. As I review a lot of consumer gadgets, I have developed an unwritten rule that I try to follow: don’t buy either the least or most expensive – go for the middle ground. It’s a common-sense rule. If you go cheap, you will see the weaknesses much more quickly and easily. If you choose the most expensive, you (or your CFO) will be kicking yourself for days/weeks/months/years to come.

Also, don’t primarily base your decision solely on price. You will be excluding a huge number of better solutions if you do. And more often than not, you will end up paying more later to get the features or functionality you wanted in the first place.

5) Support

While there are many developers or organizations who firmly believe in doing it yourself (DIY), when it comes to cloud computing, sometimes you really need to be able to talk to the experts of a particular cloud. That is where support comes into play. If a particular cloud provider has a stellar array of complex services, you will definitely want to investigate their support options as well. Most providers offer some sort of paid support and some offer free support as well. Also, a hidden rule of thumb, the more services you use or consume and the larger your monthly bill, the more likely you will have faster access to (better) support.

There are some providers who simply provide user forums where the support mechanism is delivered via moderators or overly-helpful end users. For the most part, when you are architecting a solution and you are not under a time crunch, this option is just fine. These natural support ecosystems can be a wealth of knowledge. However, if (and when) issues or outages start happening, the support forums may not be the best way to get your environment back up and running. When this happens, its nice to be able to pick up a phone, log a ticket or get on a support chat to quickly resolve the issues you are having.

So, when you look at a provider, find out what type of support options are available. Are they tiered? Is there a free level? What response times do you get for the different support price points? When you calculate your total cost of ownership (or usage) of a cloud, be sure to include the support pricing in the bottom line.

6) Service Level Agreement (SLA)

Going hand-in-hand with support is the Service Level Agreement. Most cloud providers have one of these. Read it. Ask questions about it. Try your best to understand it. If they don’t have one, or it is vague or very loose, be sure to probe deeper. Try to think of what-if scenarios and see how you would fare. Are the services that you will be using covered by the SLA?

Also, look to see how the cloud service performance is articulated in the SLA. Are there even performance metrics listed? What is your recourse if you experience performance outside of the SLA’s definition? And check to see if Support response time is included as well. It should be. You need to have set and realistic expectations on acknowledging and hopefully resolving any issues that you may have. Does your SLA vary based on what cloud services you have or what Support tier you are subscribed to?

7) Security

Security is one of the biggest concerns listed for the lack of adoption of cloud computing. And it should be. You want your data, your information and your environment to be a secure and protected as possible. There is a minimum level that should be acceptable, but this is determined by what your business is and the type of data contained within your cloud environment. You need to define what must be heavily secured and what minimally secured.

Because of the enhanced scrutiny of the cloud, most cloud environment have potentially better security than your own data center or infrastructure environment. Obviously, this, again, does depend on your business and if compliance is a requirement of your industry. In these cases, your short list of cloud providers may be much smaller than not. Be sure to ask your provider what options are available to provide you with a secured environment. Find out if these providers have passed security audits, when they were passed and what security measures they employ. While security definitely has gotten much better, it is not something to be overlooked.

Putting It All Together

In Part 2 of this series, I will be discussing the next 7 items in the list, specifically: Control, Reliability, Reach, Standardization, Expertise, Company Accessibility and Flexibility.

It’s important to remember that every business’s cloud provider selection criteria will vary based on their business and technology needs. Don’t focus on just one item and obsess on that particular item. Choose based on clearly established, discussed and agreed upon criteria, hopefully from the list that I have compiled. Selecting a cloud vendor should really be considered selecting a cloud partner, someone who will walk you down the path toward your success. And there may be some other items that I didn’t list out that may be critical to your decision process.

This post was written as part of the IBM for Midsize Business program, which provides midsize businesses with the tools, expertise and solutions they need to become engines of a smarter planet. I’ve been compensated to contribute to this program, but the opinions expressed in this post are my own and don’t necessarily represent IBM’s positions, strategies or opinions.

HTD says: Choosing a cloud provider can be complicated. Just be sure you fully understand your requirements before signing up with one!

The post 14 Things to Consider When Choosing a Cloud Provider – Part 1 appeared first on HighTechDad.

In case you didn’t know it already, Mother’s Day is right around the corner. Heads up to daughters and sons everywhere, it’s time to think about the person who hopefully nurtured you through the developing stages of your life and has provided you with ongoing support and unwavering love. However, I think it is important to not just think about moms, but also those female figures in your life who have given you guidance, a helpful hand, companionship and protection. These could be moms or mother-in-laws or mother figures or step mothers or foster mothers or simply mentors who are women.

Happy Mother’s Day 2013 – From HighTechDad

Mother’s Day may be a commercial day, great for cards and flowers, but it is important to take a little bit of time to honor these women, all gifts aside. The mother or mother figure pretty much across the human (and animal kingdom) is the protector. In my family, my wife is the “mama bear” – the one that will throw herself in the way of any type of physical or psychological danger to protect her offspring. The mother takes on various forms in our society, and I must admit, I don’t know each and every mom personality-type out there. Heck, there are probably dads or other caregivers who assume the “mom” role. Regardless, this is their day, and you should thank them for their efforts, love and encouragement.

I do have to mention the dads out there (but obviously we have a day as well). Without dads, there would be no moms. But those moms are really great reality checks for us dads. They keep us in line. Heck, my wife calls me her fourth kid…perhaps because I act like one so often? Who knows. What I’m trying to say here is that it is important for dads to recognize their family counterparts as well on Mother’s Day. (Hey dads, did you buy your wife a card yet?)

I’m not sure if Father’s Day gets the same type of treatment. But that is fine in my book. On Mother’s Day, mom gets to be queen for a day, instead of indentured servant, slave, project manager, cook, chauffeur, cleaner, organizer, tutor, doctor, psychiatrist, fashion consultant, mentor, entertainer, social coordinator…need I go on? Of course there are professional moms who add “day time bread winner” to the mix as well. Back in 2007, I figured out that if my wife, a “stay at home mom,” were to earn a salary based on the “jobs” that she does running the household, she would pull in over $240,000!

Stay-at-home Mom Salary

I have pointed this out before. You don’t have to spend gobs (or any) money celebrating moms. While it is great to keep the economy chugging along (and I don’t want any moms telling me they didn’t receive any lavish gifts because of this article), I believe there is more beauty in spending time remembering and honoring moms past and present. A few years ago, I wrote a fun poem for Mother’s Day: “Twas the Night Before Mother’s Day” (there is even a video reading of it with my kids). It’s all about taking the time to be creative and having some fun and spreading smiles.

Kids, Moms or Both?

Sometimes, though, I wonder if Mother’s Day is more about the kids and their actions recognizing their moms. I simply love those hand-made cards or crafts created at school. Or even better, the coupons for doing chores or housework or breakfast in bed – those are fantastic. I’m amazed at the creativity that comes from kids when they honor their moms.

And let’s talk about hugs! Those a priceless! As a dad, I look forward to hugging my kids every day. I think on those special days, the hugs are better and stronger. And moms definitely know how to give those and slip in a snuggle as well.

I don’t know if you have seen those AT&T commercials recently with Beck Bennett interviewing kids or not about the best type of cell phone. (I have to have a gadget spin here, sorry, I am HighTechDad.) Those commercials are super cute and quite popular. Well, AT&T contacted me to tell me about a modification to that ad campaign that is all about Mother’s Day (which is appropriate given the cuteness factor of the kids in the ads). And it’s all about hugging and moms. Here’s the commercial which just started airing:

Did you like it? Well, you can send it via social media or email to your wife or mother or mother figure in your lives, customized. Just head over to: https://attmothersday.com/.

Once she gets the digital video card, be sure to follow it up with a physical hug if you can. If she is far away, give her a call. And if you can’t do that, just spend a few minutes thinking about her and the positive things she has done for you.

Happy Mother’s Day!

So go out and celebrate your mom or that mother figure in your life! Happy Mother’s Day!

Disclosure Text : While I was not compensated by AT&T for this post, I was given a device unrelated to this campaign for an upcoming reader giveaway so stay tuned for that. All opinions within this article are my own. More information can be found in my About page as well as here.

HTD says: Hoping that moms all over enjoy their day!

The post Wake Up! Mother’s Day is Almost Here! appeared first on HighTechDad.

Yep, we’re baaaack! Have you ever tried to organize the lives of 5 busy dads who are dispersed across the country and time zones? The image of herding cats comes to mind. The desire to record our Cast of Dads podcast is there, the free time, however, is not. Yeah, excuses, excuses. We did manage to all get on a call about a week ago and chat through a variety of topics though, and were able to record Cast of Dads Podcast #57, “Lemon Flavored Ant Butts.”

I always feel that half an hour is simply not enough time to catch up and talk about the various parenting and life topics that are on our minds. In fact, Jeff and I would like to think that a little, profanity-filled, private video that we filmed together and shared with the other Cast of Dads members when he was visiting the town where I live was the impetus for us FINALLY getting back together to discuss our life activities. Perhaps if we have time, we will clean up the video and share it with y’all. However, until then, you just have to listen in on our latest podcast!

By listening, you might think that we are all a bunch of ADHD-plagued dads (well some of us are incredibly distracted, myself included). Just take a look at the topics we covered below, from light hearted parenting questions to the horror that occurred at the Boston Marathon to those “first times” at summer camp.

The Topics

Here are some of the topics we covered in Episode #57:

• What age do boys need to wear cups when playing sports?
• Phil Phillips new song talks about his crotch?
• Rhymes with crotch
• Boston Marathon Bombing
  

  Myrmelachista schumanni (Image: BBC/Martin Dohrn, taken from the new documentary series, Life in the Undergrowth)

• Good vs. Evil
• Don’t mess with Boston
• First firefly of the year!
• WALL-E is reality at Disney World
• Black Ant butts that taste like lemons?
• Washing out your mouth with soap
• School overnight trips
• “First Times” at Summer Camp
• Are “The Bases” different today then what we remember them as?
• Staying safe online
• Brisket
• Cooking with wine
• Drinking with our kids
• House of Cards
• “Obama” premiere at Correspondence Dinner

Did we miss anything? You will have to listen to the show to find out.

The Audio

As always, the full podcast is available on CastofDads.com and on iTunes. You can also listen to the podcast here: Cast of Dads – Episode  #57 “Lemon Flavored Ant Butts” or directly below.

Requesting Feedback

If you have questions or ideas for topics that you would like us to cover (remember, between all of us we have 13 children ranging from newborns to young adults), just send us an email to castofdads@gmail.com or tweet us at @CastofDads! Also, our podcast listener base is growing! If you are interested in sponsoring our podcast for an episode or a month, be sure to contact us! If you are interested in sponsoring this podcast, please leave a comment on the Cast of Dads site, send an email to castofdads@gmailcom or leave a question/comment on my Contact form.

Cast of Dads is a group of podcasting and blogging dads who gather to gab about fatherhood. The cast of dads includes C.C. Chapman, Jeffrey Sass, Max Kalehoff, Michael Sheehan, and Brad Powell, who collectively represent 13 kids from the youngest of babies to full grown adults. Each of them brings a unique perspective to being a father.

HTD says: It sure is great to be back!

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