How To Grow Your Geek: Parenting and More!

 

 HTGYG Show #112 [22:44m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Bob & Carl, Scifi Janitors

This episode, I talk about our experience at this year’s Dragon*Con. We enjoyed seeing the stars of Eureka, Warehouse 13 and Sanctuary, and heard about Amanda Tapping’s charity Sanctuary4Kids. We saw Bob & Carl, the SciFi Janitors in person, and Amanda became a big fan, and an official Janiteer. We had a wonderful Parsec ceremony – you can find the winners here! Amanda got to be the trophy girl, and showed that she can be funny too, by hamming it up a little as she presents awards. She later stole Phil Plait’s pretzels at the live AstronomyCast recording, causing him to look at me questioningly regarding her paternity! (I promise, John is her dad!) And I helped out with the live comedy4cast show, by doing a skit with Clinton. We had a great time this year, and really enjoyed seeing friends like Gary and Lizzie and making new ones!

Hi Gary and Lizzie!

Please email me with your own comments at howtogrowyourgeek-at-gmail-dot-com, or call my NEW voicemail number at  (678) 235-GROW (4769) 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 Tuning in to SciFi TV

 

 HTGYG Show #109: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

This time, I discuss our visit to Estes Park, Colorado, and our trips into the Rocky Mountain National Park, one of the wonders of the U.S.! We enjoyed seeing the Rooftop Rodeo, where an afternoon thunderstorm gave us a true Double Rainbow (see the second faint one to the left of the first, over the top of that mountain), as well as enjoying the splendor of the mountains. The kids even got to play in snow in July!

Please email me with your own comments at howtogrowyourgeek-at-gmail-dot-com, or call my NEW voicemail number at  (678) 235-GROW (4769) 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 Podculture

 

 HTGYG Show #108 [31:13m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Amanda and Kevin at the Denver Zoo!

This episode, we come back with a whirlwind tour of our vacation adventures. We saw the fantastic Real Pirates exhibit at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, enjoyed the tour of the Hammond’s Candy Factory, visited the Denver Museum of Miniatures, Dolls and Toys, missed the tour of the Denver Mint, but had an adventure with a wild animal on the loose at the Denver Zoo!  (And yes, now I realize that the other mint is in Philadelphia, not D.C.!)

The cassowary, allegedly the “world’s most dangerous bird.” Pic credit

Please email me with your own comments at howtogrowyourgeek-at-gmail-dot-com, or call my NEW voicemail number at  (678) 235-GROW (4769) 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: Adventures in SciFi Publishing and Tuning in to SciFi TV

 

 HTGYG Show #105: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Finally we’re back with a functional, if now fantastic, microphone setup, and we’re ready to listen to some great emails from Gary about our trip to Orlando and Disney World, our new dog, and how Gary found HTGYG! Thanks for the love!

Please email me with your own comments at howtogrowyourgeek-at-gmail-dot-com, or call my NEW voicemail number at  (678) 235-GROW (4769) 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 Podculture

 

 HTGYG Show #100: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Hey everyone! This episode, we have some great voicemails and emails, celebrating our 100th episode, as well as voicemails from Gary and RapidEye about family vacations, genetic guilt, comic books on e-readers, and cooking with kids! Thanks to Kevin Bachelder from Tuning in to SciFi TV, The Signal, and many other podcasts, and to Chuck Tomasi and Kreg Steppe from Technorama for sending in their good wishes!

Also, happy birthday to Amanda this week! My girl is getting so grown up!

And don’t forget to go over to the Parsec Awards site and nominate your favorite speculative fiction podcasts!

Please email me with your own comments at howtogrowyourgeek-at-gmail-dot-com, or call my NEW voicemail number at  (678) 235-GROW (4769) 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 Tuning In to SciFi TV

 

 HTGYG Show #99: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

This episode, I have some great books for you to get for your kids – the Jimi &Isaac series by Phil Rink. These books, Jimi &Isaac 3a: The Mars Mission and Jimi & Isaac 4a: Solar Powered are fun, interesting stories with well-written characters, and have a good amount of science info in them as well!

I also present the places on this CNN Travel list 15  American places your kids should see by age 15. Le me know if you’ve been to any of these places and what you think of this list!

And we are planning to celebrate our 100th episode next time, and want you all to call, email or send us a message, telling us what you like about the show, where you found us, or what you’d love to hear. We want to make a clip show featuring all of these messages, so please send us something soon!

A big shout out to our friends at Technorama, Chuck and Kreg! They’ve hit their #300 show, and we want to help them celebrate this milestone. Go check them out!

And, dear listeners, the huge earthquakes and tsunamis that hit Japan have caused great damage and loss of life.  Here’s a way you can help. The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies accepts donations via text message. Text “redcross” to 90999, and you can make a $10 donation to the organization. It will show up on your next mobile phone bill.

Please email me with your own comments at howtogrowyourgeek-at-gmail-dot-com, or call my NEW voicemail number at  (678) 235-GROW (4769) 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: Dragon Page with Class and the Safe Haven Podcast

 

 HTGYG Show #98: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

In this final episode of our family vacation trip to Orlando, I present our trips to Universal Islands of Adventure, specifically the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, and oldie but still goodie SeaWorld!

Hogsmeade and Hogwarts Castle were truly memorable, the butterbeer was delicious, and the chocolate frogs were ENORMOUS!

SeaWorld was a wonderful way to visit some truly amazing animals, and a great way to end our vacation on some memorable experiences, like feeding and petting dolphins!

A big shout out to our friends at Technorama, Chuck and Kreg! They’ve hit their #300 show, and we want to help them celebrate this milestone. Go check them out!

And, dear listeners, the huge earthquakes and tsunamis that hit Japan have caused great damage and loss of life.  Here’s a way you can help. The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies accepts donations via text message. Text “redcross” to 90999, and you can make a $10 donation to the organization. It will show up on your next mobile phone bill.

Please email me with your own comments at howtogrowyourgeek-at-gmail-dot-com, or call my NEW voicemail number at  (678) 235-GROW (4769) 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: Tuning In To SciFi TV and Technorama

 

 HTGYG Show #97 [48:06m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

In this episode, I am joined by my son Kevin as we go over our favorite things that we did as we visited Epcot Center, Disney Hollywood Studios and the Magic Kingdom in Walt Disney World in Orlando. There’s no way to do all of the rides and attractions, any more than we can cover these parks adequately on a single podcast, so we followed the rule – Do what you most want to! Here’s our descriptions of our must-see attractions and high points!

Today, as we record, the huge earthquakes and tsunamis have hit Japan. Our hearts go out to our friends there, and we hope everyone is safe. Here’s a way you can help. The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies accepts donations via text message. Text “redcross” to 90999, and you can make a $10 donation to the organization. It will show up on your next mobile phone bill.

Please email me with your own comments at howtogrowyourgeek-at-gmail-dot-com, or call my NEW voicemail number at  (678) 235-GROW (4769) 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: Tuning In To SciFi TV and Dragon Page Cover to Cover

 

 HTGYG Show #96: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

This episode, I totally geek out over the Kennedy Space Center in Titusville, FL, in the first part of my coverage of our family vacation to Orlando last week. In addition to describing the center and its attractions, I try to provide some good advice about taking geeky family vacations – packing, saving money, and finding some educational opportunities while having a great time with the family!

Info about Kennedy Space Center can be found here – I heartily recommend going this summer if you can, before we stop the shuttle program!

Please email me with your own comments at howtogrowyourgeek-at-gmail-dot-com, or call my NEW voicemail number at  (678) 235-GROW (4769) 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: The Babylon Podcast and Technorama

 

 HTGYG Show #82 [51:55m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Sponsor: Try GotoMeeting free for 30 days!

In this episode, I detail our adventures at Dragon*Con – where I helped out with the Parsecs, Amanda got to go for the first time, and we met lots of cool folks. I helped out with the comedy4cast live show with Clinton Alvord, hung out with the guys from Technorama, and visited with my friends from the SeekerCast! It was a great time!

Amanda and Eddie McClintock, who plays Pete on Warehouse 13!

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!

Amanda and Erica Cerra, who plays Deputy Jo Lupo on Eureka!

I urge everyone to visit the Parsec Awards site to see the list of winners and finalists! And check out the amazing Marian Call – she’s got a voice like a sci-fi angel!

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 SeekerCast