December 22, 2011

A Quest for the Holidays – The 2012 Nissan Quest
I sit in a darkened cafe. About a block away, packs of people are streaming into the San Francisco Opera House as part of a holiday tradition that goes back decades. Dressed up with kids in tow, they are off to see the San Francisco Ballet's Nutcracker. I have seen the Nutcracker ever since I was a small child. It…
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September 19, 2011

The Schizophrenia that is Netflix…er…Qwikster…uh…Netster…QwikFlix?
I have been a Netflix user for many many years. My account says 2007 but I actually started my service before that time, stopped and then restarted it. My family finds Netflix to be indispensable and we use both services, streaming and physical DVDs regularly. Every TV in our house has access to Netflix, in fact, we did some "cord…
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August 25, 2011

100+ Voices Unhappy About Honda Clear Coat Paint Peel Defect & Honda’s Ambivalence
I normally don't like complaining about companies or their products. Sure, all things that we purchase have issues or will have problems over time. But when it comes to expensive purchases and when there seems to be a commonality among the types of issues, I feel that there is a requirement to say something about it publicly, either to simply…
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August 5, 2011

10 Ideas for Facebook Parental Controls and What You Can Do Until They Are There
Facebook needs parental controls - although I will bet that if you ask kids between the ages of 13 and 16, they would say that it definitely does NOT need ANY type of parental control whatsoever. But, being a parent and a bit of a social media junkie, I know that something is definitely needed. Children are simply too young…
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July 11, 2011

The Pitfalls of Summer – a Parent’s Financial & Scheduling Nightmare
What happened to the good old days of unstructured play during summer vacation? You headed out to your friend's house in the morning, checked in with your parents around lunch (maybe), and then were out until it was dark or dinner time. You had fun, it was raw, it had what little structure you imposed on it. There were the…
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April 27, 2011

Hang In There Sony…And Thanks for Your Continued Innovation
It happens to the best of us. We plan for the worst, do all of our due diligence, prepare for the unexpected, test and re-test and cross our fingers a lot. But inevitably, there is always something that we didn't think of. I could be talking about the recent Amazon Web Services outage or the napping by the Air Traffic…
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March 24, 2011

A Great iPhone 5 Rumors Infographic & My Thoughts On It and What Apple Will Really Do
I absolutely LOVE infographics! I almost view them as a form of art (coupled with some marketing spin). And, I love the iPhone (being pretty much an Apple "fan boy"), ok, well, I love technology in general, obviously. The folks over at NowhereElse.fr (a French technology blog) put together a really GREAT infographic that rounds up all of the iPhone…
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March 24, 2011

Two Beers, a Coffee, and 3/5’s of the Cast of Dads at SXSW – Video Podcast
Unfortunately, I couldn't make it out Austin, TX...some day, I do hope to partake in the madness that is South-by-SouthWest (SXSW). Heck, I only this year made it to CES for the first time! But 2/5ths of the Cast of Dads, C.C. Chapman and Jeff Sass, did make it out to SXSW, and joined Brad Powell right in Brad's Texas…
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February 27, 2011

Oscar Predictions for 2011 – HighTechDad’s Wife Makes the Call on the 2011 Academy Awards
So, every year, my wife has a mission. She tries to see each and every film that is nominated for the top categories in the Academy Awards. It's pretty ambitious actually, but every year, she manages to see just about every film (with the exception of some of the smaller films or the documentaries). Then, prior to Oscar Night, she…
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February 18, 2011

When Can You Have “THE Talk” with Your Kids? – Cast of Dads Podcast #39
Wow, back-to-back Cast of Dads podcast posts! I guess we are slowly getting back into our groove. Episode #39, "Having THE Talk" was focused on pretty much one thing – having "the talk" with your kids. While some of the Cast of Dads have kids still in diapers, others have graduated to the parenting of young adults, and some of…
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February 13, 2011

4-Way iPad Keyboard Case Review: Sena Keyboard Folio, Kensington KeyFolio, ZAGGmate & tyPad
For many people, the iPad is fine the way it is...as just a tablet. However, for me, I needed something that was more than just a tablet but less than a laptop or even a netbook. That sweet spot requires one key thing...literally, a physical keyboard. So, why would anyone want to lug around a keyboard? I actually know quite…
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January 31, 2011

MacWorld 2011 – Sort of a Yawner with a Few Moments of Wakefulness
I have been going to the MacWorld Expo for many years now and I'm really sad to see it losing much of its excitement. When Apple was there, showcasing new products and innovations, there was a vibrancy and energy. Ever since Apple pulled out of the Expo, I feel that it has been going downhill. Apple provided the weight to…
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