In this podcast, I talk about things to consider when deciding when and where to send your little geeks to school. Preschool, public school, private school and home schooling – all need to be investigated by visits, getting information from the sources, finding a good support network in the area and weighing the costs and benefits. I give my experiences and opinions on what to look for and consider! As always, this is just my opinion as another parent, but sometimes it helps to hear about experiences of other parents!

We’re starting a new podcast for those fans of Eureka and Warehouse 13 on SyFy – the EurekaVerse Podcast! Follow us on Twitter at @EurekaVerse!

Dragon*Con is coming next week! I can’t wait – I’ll be helping out Clinton from comedy4cast a little with his show live on Friday, and will be hanging around the Podcasting Track most of the weekend.

Don’t forget about the Parsec Awards coming up at Dragon*Con -I urge everyone to visit the Parsec Awards site to check our our list of finalists! These are some of the best offerings out there in speculative fiction podcasting! And I encourage us all to get our booster vaccines, and here’s info about free pertussis vaccine clinic at Dragon*Con, thanks to the Skepchicks!

Please email me with your own comments at howtogrowyourgeek-at-gmail-dot-com, or call my NEW voicemail number at  206-337-8533 and leave your thoughts.  And last but not least, you can follow me on Twitter at SusietheGeek or the show at HowToGrowGeek!

Theme music courtesy of Jonathan Coulton

Promo: Technorama and the Safe Haven Podcast

Oh boy, finally the kids are back to school! In honor of this “most wonderful time of the year,” I talk about some of our mini-vacation outings to the water park and the Tellus Museum planetarium. Then I discuss back-to-school shopping and the benefits of our school’s uniform policy. Then I gush about the Parsec awards coming up at Dragon*Con -I urge everyone to visit the Parsec Awards site to check our our newly posted list of finalists! These are some of the best offerings out there in speculative fiction podcasting! And finally, I highlight the pertussis outbreak and encourage us all to get our booster vaccines, and give info about the free pertussis vaccine clinic at Dragon*Con, thanks to the Skepchicks!

Two special treats in this week’s cast -the first being Ben Stirling’s “Precious Moments”-style Cthulhus, hand made for his children. You can get your own, plus other adorable Lovecraft-inspired figures at his site!

The second treat is the song “Close Your Eyes,” by Marc Gunn, from his new albumn “Kilted for Her Pleasure,” which are Celtic-style geeky songs.

Please email me with your own comments at howtogrowyourgeek-at-gmail-dot-com, or call my NEW voicemail number at  206-337-8533 and leave your thoughts. You can also visit our forum at the Farpoint Forums. And last but not least, you can follow me on Twitter at SusietheGeek or the show at HowToGrowGeek!

Theme music courtesy of Jonathan Coulton

Promo: Marc Gunn’s Irish & Celtic Music Podcast

*SPOILER ALERT*

The kids and I present a review/summary of the movie “Despicable Me,” and encourage you all to go see it! It was a thoroughly enjoyable movie for kids and adults, and well worth a visit to the theater – which is saying a lot, considering our family usually waits for everything on Netflix!

Then, we have a few voicemails from Lizzie, Tim and Wyatt, and then I urge everyone to visit the Parsec Awards site to check our our newly posted list of finalists! These are some of the best offerings out there in speculative fiction podcasting!

Please email me with your own comments at howtogrowyourgeek-at-gmail-dot-com, or call my voicemail number at 206-202-7309   and leave your thoughts. You can also visit our forum at the Farpoint Forums. And last but not least, you can follow me on Twitter at SusietheGeek or the show at HowToGrowGeek!

Theme music courtesy of Jonathan Coulton

Promos: Parsec Finalists: Variant Frequencies and The Babylon Podcast

This week, I join the celebration of the Summer of SciFi at Slice of SciFi with my review of the 1978 original theatrical release of Battlestar Galactica. You can find my review of the movie over there, and listen to my casual commentary of the movie, the series, my comparison of it and Star Wars, and other general bits of me babbling here! I also remind you all to be looking for the finalists of the Parsec Awards to be announced here soon – as we are finishing up semifinalist judging right now!

Please email me with your own comments at howtogrowyourgeek-at-gmail-dot-com, or call my voicemail number at 206-202-7309   and leave your thoughts. You can also visit our forum at the Farpoint Forums. And last but not least, you can follow me on Twitter at SusietheGeek or the show at HowToGrowGeek!

Theme music courtesy of Jonathan Coulton

Photos from the Battlestar Wiki

Promos: Slice of SciFi and The Dragon Page: Cover to Cover

Happy Independence Day to the U.S.! I hope folks had a great holiday weekend! We have a number of great voicemails from Tim, highlighting Darcy’s awesome reviews here on the blog, and reinforcing my discussion on recycling and reusing stuff! Then Lizzie calls in to tell us about her babysitting gig and how the parents are cool Brits who let their kids watch old Dr. Who! Then Tim gets me going again on role-playing online, so I gush about DDO again.  Finally, I pipe up about our love of Steam for downloading PC games, and Wyatt calls in about GameStop for console games. I hope you guys love the mailbag stuff! I’ll be back next week with another topic after my week at my folks’ home down on the farm.

Please email me with your own comments at howtogrowyourgeek-at-gmail-dot-com, or call my voicemail number at 206-202-7309   and leave your thoughts. You can also visit our forum at the Farpoint Forums. And last but not least, you can follow me on Twitter at SusietheGeek or the show at HowToGrowGeek!

Theme music courtesy of Jonathan Coulton

Promos: The Jesus Geeks (Now Twisted Geeks!)and What The Cast

This episode, I try to tackle the complicated subject of how to talk to our kids about the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Doug from Alaska calls in at the beginning – I thought his voicemail spoke for itself. This subject is pretty hard, so I mostly discuss what we can do to help our kids learn how not to make the same mistakes in the future.  Please let me know your comments and suggestions!

Please email me with your own comments at howtogrowyourgeek-at-gmail-dot-com, or call my voicemail number at 206-202-7309   and leave your thoughts. You can also visit our forum at the Farpoint Forums. And last but not least, you can follow me on Twitter at SusietheGeek or the show at HowToGrowGeek!

Theme music courtesy of Jonathan Coulton

Promos: Dragon Page Cover-to-Cover and The Chronic Rift

Due to a busy week at our house, and good timing from him with a couple of great long voicemails, I’m going to let  Wyatt have a special long version of his Xbox Live and gaming reviews on the show, this week. He discusses a lot of new games and releases, gives his opinions on some great Vietnam-era gameplay, and then gives a great rant on which game franchises need to take a break or just die. Feel free to share your opinions on this – you may love these games and hate others! Please send Wyatt some feedback, and look him up on Xbox Live – his gamertag is Astrozombie1222 – see the pics below! Then we have a voicemail from Doug in Alaska about a great indie game!

Next week, I am going to tackle how to discuss the BP oil spill in the Gulf with your kids, and what things that we all can do to help a little bit.  Send me your recommendations, advice or questions please, because this isn’t an easy subject to tackle!

Please email me with your own comments at howtogrowyourgeek – at-gmail -dot-com, or call my voicemail number at 206-202-7309   and leave your thoughts. You can also visit our forum at the Farpoint Forums. And last but not least, you can follow me on Twitter at SusietheGeek or the show at HowToGrowGeek!

Theme music courtesy of Jonathan Coulton

Promos: The Geek Spin and The Signal

In this episode, we tell you our soap-making adventure, inspired by  Geeky Clean, and recommend this as a great easy craft! Here are some pictures of our starting kit and our lovely results! The kids had a blast, and can’t wait to do it again!

Next, we have a voicemail from Mark with the Tickle Me Plant Company, presenting his great product for kids and plant lovers of all ages. I am familiar with these plants, and think that they are very cool and interesting, especially for kids!  Then, Doug from Alaska calls in to tell us what he thinks kids are good for, and I agree!

Please email me with your own comments at howtogrowyourgeek – at-gmail -dot-com, or call my voicemail number at 206-202-7309   and leave your thoughts. You can also visit our forum at the Farpoint Forums. And last but not least, you can follow me on Twitter at SusietheGeek or the show at HowToGrowGeek!

Theme music courtesy of Jonathan Coulton

Promos: Dragon Page Cover to Cover and Podculture

Hi everyone! This time, I have a whole lot of great voicemails from Gary and Tim about a lot of recent topics. Gary tells us about his gardening experience with his kids, bemoans the popularity of SillyBands, and calls me out on using the kids as an excuse to collect American Girls stuff and Galactic Heroes figures.  Then I compliment Darcy on the great batch of stuff she sent the kids for Amanda’s birthday, and let her know I swiped the Girl Genius comic (It won a HUGO!).

After that, Tim discusses what kids are really good for, and thanks Darcy for reminding him of his and Jenny’s first wedding anniversary (Congrats to you!). After I wistfully discuss the oil drilling disaster in the gulf, Tim lets us know of a great opportunity to catch Jacques Cousteau’s great documentary on the oceans, “Under the Sea,” on June 11.

Call or email me if you have any opinion on which video game franchises you think need a break, or just need to die. Wyatt has a rant on this subject that I am going to do a special episode on soon, and we would love your opinions!

Don’t forget – you have until June 1 to nominate your favorite podcasts for a Parsec Award! I’m not eligible, so I’m not asking for me – I’m asking for all those other great shows that you listen to and love!

Please email me with your own comments at howtogrowyourgeek – at-gmail -dot-com, or call my voicemail number at 206-202-7309   and leave your thoughts. You can also visit our forum at the Farpoint Forums. And last but not least, you can follow me on Twitter at SusietheGeek or the show at HowToGrowGeek!

Theme music courtesy of Jonathan Coulton

Promos: MilkCartonTV and The Parsec Awards

So, what are kids good for, anyway? This week, I attempt to answer that question in snarky, serious, and funny ways.  It is getting a little hectic around here with the end of the school year, so I am both venting a little and reminding us all that kids are really great. Gary helps with several voicemails adding what he thinks as well. Then Wyatt has a little rant of his own, discussing the less-than-good quality of most little kid games and movie-tie-in games.

Please email me with your own comments at howtogrowyourgeek – at-gmail -dot-com, or call my voicemail number at 206-202-7309  and leave your thoughts. You can also visit our forum at the Farpoint Forums. And last but not least, you can follow me on Twitter at SusietheGeek or the show at HowToGrowGeek!

Theme music courtesy of Jonathan Coulton

Promos: The Parsec Awards and What The Cast?

This week I present a couple of cool activities you can do with your kids – tye-dyed t-shirts made easy (see pictures for example and the dye used, SEI TumbleDye, which I got at Hobby Lobby ), and gardening in a pot or a spot! Then we have some voicemails from Gary about Legos and Tim about games and the Nintendo Power Glove. Finally, Wyatt calls in again to give us another Xbox Live update!

Please email me with your own comments at howtogrowyourgeek – at-gmail -dot-com, or call my voicemail number at 206-202-7309  and leave your thoughts. You can also visit our forum at the Farpoint Forums. And last but not least, you can follow me on Twitter at SusietheGeek or the show at HowToGrowGeek!

Theme music courtesy of Jonathan Coulton

Promos: The Parsec Awards and Podculture

In this episode, I review the classic PBS series “Nova,” and discuss some of my favorite episodes, which leads me to talk about GalaxyZoo, the Astronomy Cast, the 365 Days of Astronomy and Pluto. Which then leads me to discuss the book “The Pluto Files” by Neil DeGrasse Tyson, and the Nova episode based on it. Also, you can follow Neil DeGrasse Tyson, Pamela Gay and Mike Brown on Twitter!

Please email me with your own comments at howtogrowyourgeek – at-gmail -dot-com, or call my voicemail number at 206-202-7309  and leave your thoughts. You can also visit our forum at the Farpoint Forums. And last but not least, you can follow me on Twitter at SusietheGeek or the show at HowToGrowGeek!

Theme music courtesy of Jonathan Coulton

Promos: The Parsec Awards and Podculture

In this episode, we review a card-based game Amanda got for her birthday, Incan Gold. I recommend it for kids – it is quick, easy, and you can work on their simple math skills without them complaining much! Next, I review the Science Channel show Meteorite Men, which I recommend for hardcore rock hounds and meteorite buffs. Finally, Wyatt calls in with a discussion of motion control platforms in gaming, a commentary on  Army Men, and a comment on Bioshock.

Please email me with your own comments at howtogrowyourgeek – at-gmail -dot-com, or call my voicemail number at 206-202-7309 and leave your thoughts. You can also visit our forum at the Farpoint Forums. And last but not least, you can follow me on Twitter at SusietheGeek or the show at HowToGrowGeek!

Theme music courtesy of Jonathan Coulton

Promos: The Parsec Awards and the Safe Haven Podcast

Please email me with your own comments at howtogrowyourgeek – at-gmail -dot-com, or call my voicemail number at 206-202-7309 and leave your thoughts. You can also visit our forum at the Farpoint Forums. And last but not least, you can follow me on Twitter at SusietheGeek or the show at HowToGrowGeek!

Theme music courtesy of Jonathan Coulton

Promos: The Chronic Rift and The Seeker Cast

Please email me with your own comments at howtogrowyourgeek – at-gmail -dot-com, or call my voicemail number at 206-202-7309 and leave your thoughts. You can also visit our forum at the Farpoint Forums. And last but not least, you can follow me on Twitter at SusietheGeek or the show at HowToGrowGeek!

Theme music courtesy of Jonathan Coulton

Promos: Technorama and Slice of SciFi