Shows

HTGYG Show #118: Keeping Our Kids Safe, at Home and Online!

Posted on December 2, 2011 Written by susiethegeek Leave a Comment

HTGYG Show #118 [ 37:23 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

This episode, I once again tackle a sensitive subject – keeping our kids safe. With all of the press about child predators and sexual abuse, we need to teach our kids what is appropriate behavior with other people, and what shouldn’t be tolerated and should be reported. Also, our kids need to know how to be safe online, both using the internet safely, whether observed or using a parental control program like SafeEyes. Finally, how to teach kids in order to protect their privacy while being online, in both social media sites, chats and gaming.

*Correction – I stated that SafeEyes had been purchased by Norton, but it actually was purchased by McAfee. I also see that it has been given the Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval, so it has some really good recommendations out there!

The national Sex Offender registry can be found here, but you should also search for registries in your specific area!

Please email me with your own comments at howtogrowyourgeek-at-gmail-dot-com, or call my 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

Filed Under: Shows, Special Topics

HTGYG Show #117: Talking About Sexuality, Respect, and Growing Up – GULP!

Posted on November 14, 2011 Written by susiethegeek Leave a Comment

HTGYG Show #117 Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

This episode, I start to tackle how to talk to your kids about sexuality, respect, and growing up, and how to know when your kids are ready to talk about this stuff! Yup, I mean talking about not only where babies come from, but also how they get there, what kids whisper about on the playground, and laying the groundwork for keeping communication going as your kids grow. This discussion is based on my experience with my own life and kids, as well as what I learned studying developmental psychology in college and grad school. I welcome your comments, stories, and suggestions – especially with tweens and teens, since I’m getting to that stage!

Theme music courtesy of Jonathan Coulton

Promo: The Babylon Podcast and Tuning in to SciFi TV

Filed Under: Shows, Special Topics

HTGYG Show #116: Halloween Fun: Costumes, Makeup and Pumpkins!

Posted on October 29, 2011 Written by susiethegeek 1 Comment

HTGYG Show #116 Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

In this episode, I share some ideas for Halloween costumes, makup tips, including a great intro makeup voicemail from our friend and makeup artist Lizzie, and some cool pumpkin ideas. We got some great ideas, including no-sew and last minute options here at Family Fun magazine, and some fun geeky costume ideas using boxes here. There are also some fun ideas here at Costume Idea Zone

Here are a few links to some cool pumpkin videos, including a steampunk jack-o-lantern how-to and some freaky falling and smashing pumpkins below!

Please email me with your own comments at howtogrowyourgeek-at-gmail-dot-com, or call my 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 Signal and The ScapeCast

Film was made by Devin Graham, with music by Stephen J. Anderson

Filed Under: Cheap Activities, Shows, Special Topics Tagged: Crafts

HTGYG Show #115: Buffy, Dr. Horrible, Dark Matters and … Rocky Horror?!?

Posted on October 14, 2011 Written by susiethegeek Leave a Comment

HTGYG Show #115 Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Getting ready for Halloween? Want some good scary media to share with your geeky kids – and to know for what age groups are these media appropriate? Here, I discuss Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog, H.P. Lovecraft’s stories, the Arkham Horror board game and even Rocky Horror Picture Show. And at the end, I review the new Science Channel TV show Dark Matters:Twisted but True, which tells scary stories and the science and history behind them.

Theme music courtesy of Jonathan Coulton

Promos: Marc Gunn’s Irish & Celtic Music Podcast and The Chronic Rift

Filed Under: Shows Tagged: Board Games, Movies, TV Shows

HTGYG Show #114: Science and History Podcasts for Kids & Teens

Posted on October 7, 2011 Written by susiethegeek 4 Comments

HTGYG Show #114 Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Hey everyone! This episode I talk about some of my favorite science and history podcasts for kids, teens and adults. By no means are these all that are out there, but these are some that I regularly listen to and enjoy! Here are the links!

Here’s Aaron and his Parsec Award! (Photo by Kyle Nishioka at kylenishioka.com)

Aaron’s World – A young boy shares his love and knowledge of dinosaurs – great for all ages!

Princess Scientist’s Book Club – Princess Scientist and her parents share the books that they’ve been reading.

Astronomy Cast – Pamela Gay and Fraser Cain present astronomical topics in easy-to-understand detail for non-scientists – and they’re fun to listen to as well!

Monster Talk – Blake “Doctor Atlantis” Smith, Ben Radford, and Karen Stollznow discuss cryptozoology – the study of animals that haven’t been proven to exist, such as Bigfoot, the Loch Ness Monster, and others. They also have fun with related topics such as ninjas and ghosts! Generally good for all ages – will usually have a tag if the episode contains content inappropriate for kids.

Science Friday – NPR’s reliable science news show, usually hosted by Ira Flatow, covers lots of current and relevant topics in the science world. They often have great interviews, and they also have fun videos on their site.

This Week In Science (TWIS) – Kirsten “Dr. Kikki” Sanford and Justin Jackson talk about lots of the current topics in science, and often have discussion and interviews with scientists and writers. Usually kid-safe, unless Justin is on a rant, and has great music.

Stuff You Should Know – General info podcast by the How Stuff Works website. Chuck, Josh and Jeri cover lots of great topics that you may have never thought about, such as “How Does Silly Putty Work?” and “How Does the Peace Corp Work?”

Stuff to Blow Your Mind – Science info podcast by the How Stuff Works folks. Robert and Julie discuss science news and innovations, a single topic at a time. A great way to catch up on things you didn’t know or missed in the news!

Tech Stuff – Tech info podcast, again by the How Stuff Works people. Jonathan, friend, podcaster, RenFair actor and writer for HSW, co-hosts this podcast with Chris, where they talk about computers, gadgets, the internet, and all kinds of tech topics. A great way to catch up on the new cool toys everyone is talking about!

Stuff You Missed in History Class – History info podcast by the How Stuff Works website. These ladies choose specific subjects within history, and discuss the “real deal” of what happened. Jack the Ripper, Catherine the Great, the Freedom Riders – you name it in history, these ladies have probably talked about it. Great for getting a kid started on a research project on a particular person or event in history!

Dan Carlin’s Hardcore History – This is for serious history buffs, but if you are, you’ll love how much detail and time is spent on each subject. Dan discusses lots of wars and conflicts, as well as particular periods in history and specific figures of note. His shows are infrequent, but worth the wait!

I hope you find some shows that you like or can use! I’ll have more selections soon, and we’re still looking for Halloween costumes and pictures!

Theme music courtesy of Jonathan Coulton

Promo: Technorama and Podculture

Filed Under: Shows Tagged: Education, podcasts

HTGYG Show #113: Arts and Music in Schools – Why They’re Important!

Posted on September 30, 2011 Written by susiethegeek Leave a Comment

HTGYG #113 Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

This week, I discuss why keeping the arts and music programs in school is important – in my opinion. I talk about Kevin’s and Amanda’s choirs, their growing confidence, and their improving grades. I also have a couple of voicemails – Rapideye chimes in on school uniforms, and Gary discusses how he introduced his kids to mythology. Finally, I am asking for you to send in your Halloween costume ideas and picture – we’d love to see them and get ideas for Amanda!

You can find out about the IgNobel Prizes here, and watch the ceremony from last night here.

Theme music courtesy of Jonathan Coulton

Promo: SofaDogs and Great Hites

Filed Under: Shows, Special Topics Tagged: Education, Music

HTGYG Show #112: Dragon*Con: Parsecs, Stars and Goofiness

Posted on September 15, 2011 Written by susiethegeek Leave a Comment

HTGYG Show #112 [ 22:44 ] 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

Filed Under: Shows, Special Topics Tagged: Travel

HTGYG Show #111: Back to School: Choosing a School, Uniforms, & Voicemails

Posted on August 30, 2011 Written by susiethegeek Leave a Comment

HTGYG Show #111 [ 46:09 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

IF YOU GOT THE BAD RECORDING, PLEASE RE-DOWNLOAD!

In this episode, we talk about some back-to-school issues, including choosing a good school, school uniforms, and some comments from Gary.

Theme music courtesy of Jonathan Coulton

Promo: Adventures in SciFi Publishing and Tuning in to SciFi TV

Filed Under: Shows, Special Topics Tagged: Education

HTGYG Show #111: Back to School: Choosing a School, Uniforms, & Voicemails

Posted on August 30, 2011 Written by susiethegeek Leave a Comment

HTGYG Show #111v2 Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

IF YOU GOT THE BAD RECORDING, PLEASE RE-DOWNLOAD!

In this episode, we talk about some back-to-school issues, including choosing a good school, school uniforms, and some comments from Gary.

Theme music courtesy of Jonathan Coulton

Promo: Adventures in SciFi Publishing and Tuning in to SciFi TV

Filed Under: Shows, Special Topics Tagged: Education

HTGYG Show #110: Mythical Creatures, MonsterTalk and Colorado Voicemails

Posted on August 17, 2011 Written by susiethegeek 2 Comments

HTGYG Show #110 Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

A lovely Chinese parade dragon

In this episode, I detail our tour of the Mythical Creatures exhibit at the Fernbank Museum of Natural History in Atlanta, guided by Blake “Doctor Atlantis” Smith of the MonsterTalkpodcast, one of the official podcasts of Skeptic Magazine. Blake did a great job of giving us background information and possible origins behind the various mythical creatures we saw, including the kraken, mermaids, the Cyclops, and of course dragons.

Blake “Doctor Atlantis” Smith, discussing the “Feejee Mermaid,” and you can see Kevin front and center!

A quick note, if you are in the area, Fernbank is replacing the Mythical Creatures special exhibit with one about Darwin, beginning Sept 24. The description on their site: this special exhibition features live animals, amazing fossils and an array of scientific tools used by Charles Darwin.

Theme music courtesy of Jonathan Coulton

Promo: Technorama and Podculture

Filed Under: Shows, Special Topics Tagged: podcasts, Travel