“Family” collection
Navigate the intersection of family life and technology with expert advice on household gadgets, digital parenting, and home safety. This section focuses on tools and strategies that enhance family connections and simplify domestic logistics in a digital-first world.
HTD Tech Briefs
View all →October 22, 2007
Humor: Can you find “Little Johnny?”
I'm sure that many of you have heard the "Little Johnny" jokes that circulate in email. If you haven't, just take a look through this search in Google and you will see some. Well, have you ever wondered what Little Johnny looked like? Here is a recent class picture. I'm not going to tell you which one he is but…
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October 9, 2007
General: How to get the Right Amount of Sleep
I read a very interesting article on sleep patterns and thought that I would do a quick summary of what I learned, applied to my own situation. The Center for Applied Cognitive Studies (CentACS) has reported that people basically sleep in 90 minute cycles, and that if you were in an environment with no interruptions (e.g., no light changes, illness,…
Read more →September 18, 2007
WordPress: People can view your Plugin Folder unless you fix!
As I was working on the update to my blog theme, I found a security hole that I think has existed for a long time in WordPress. While not incredibly devastating, nor directly tied to "code" within WordPress, it is a hole that is very easy to fix. The concern is more with KNOWING the types of plugins that a…
Read more →September 11, 2007
Family: HTD’s Commentary on “Guy Kawasaki on Parenting” Interview
I read an interesting interview on Parent Wonder with Guy Kawasaki about fathering/parenting four children. This interview, while short, was intriguing to me as I have three children and frequently get wrapped up in technology and seeing how it can be used to better parenting (hence my quote "...where technology and fatherhood collide..."). But really, the answers below (mine and…
Read more →September 10, 2007
WordPress update: Version 2.2.3 released with Security Fix
Just updated my blog with WordPress version 2.2.3 (haven't taken the plunge with the beta version 2.3 yet but I am working on a new theme). The 2.2.3 version is just a security release that they recommend people upgrade to, especially regarding two high-priority bugs. The following bugs were closed: 3002 - On Windows machines register_activation_hook() does not work if…
Read more →September 7, 2007
These baby videos WILL make you laugh!
Just some Friday, YouTube humor to make you laugh...I hope. It's a bit contagious. Enjoy! [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5P6UU6m3cqk] With the Wii, no less! [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_mBLWpdwnI] Weird cuts on this one but still classic. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1vfSk-6tIvo] This one "rips" me up! [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cXXm696UbKY] This one is a bit long...but it makes me hungry! [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mUUUj2DRVg8] Good thing this kid was strapped down! [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wifEc7TNioY] I had to put…
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June 19, 2007
Family Tech: Easily manage what sites your kids see with Glubble
Finally I have come across something to write about that truly talks to my site motto "where technology and fatherhood collide." It is not very often that I can write about a new service or piece of software that can help a family. Computers are now as common as TVs and now kids have computers in their rooms, at schools,…
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June 7, 2007
What HighTechDad wants for Father’s Day
I'm taking a side-step here away from my usual software and hardware posts to talk about something dear to my heart...selfishly enough, Father's Day! I already have the best 3 gifts I could ever want, three wonderful daughters! Who could ask for more than that? Not me! So why this post then? Well, the other things that Dads want are…
Read more →May 30, 2007
Scam/Virus Alert – emails from IRS with Subject “Complaint Case Number…”
Scam, Virus, Phishing alert! Looks like there is a variant of the Better Business Bureau scam is circulating now but seemingly from the Internal Revenue Service, and I was a recipient of one of the emails. It came in with a title of: "Complaint Case Number ###### against User Name" from, supposedly "[email protected]". The body itself looked somewhat legit and…
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May 7, 2007
HTD Roundup: Snippets of Tech that I have been playing with
It's been a while since my last post so I figured I would do yet another laundry list of things that I have been doing and technology I have been reviewing: Updated my Blog Theme to Redoable 1.2 - still a work in progress as there are some issues preventing me from showing what I had previously MAMP 1.6 -…
Read more →March 15, 2007
Paying stay-at-home moms & dads for their work
I must admit, I was looking for financial information related to my own job when I came across this "stay-at-home mom" salary calculator. And it got me thinking, why is it that we don't reward those parents who decide to stay at home to raise their kids and forgo their professional aspirations in the process? If you think your job…
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March 5, 2007
Tivo Product Management – Are you listening? Kidzone suggestion
Sometimes I wish that I could become a temporary Product Manager at a variety of different companies...only so that I can get features into products that I use. I have many years of various types of Product Management positions, but wouldn't it be great to be able to materialize in a company, spec out a product, work with the developers…
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