Archives for Special Topics category

 
icon for podpress  HTGYG Show #80: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

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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!

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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

NEW VOICEMAIL NUMBER!!!

Hi guys – the voicemail number has changed for HTGYG!

The new phone # is 206-337-8533

Give us a call!

 
icon for podpress  HTGYG Show #79: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

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*SPOILER ALERT*

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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!

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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

 
icon for podpress  HTGYG Show #77: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

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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

 
icon for podpress  HTGYG Show #76: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

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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

 
icon for podpress  HTGYG#74 [35:42m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

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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!

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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

 
icon for podpress  HTGYG Show #73: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

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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!).

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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

 
icon for podpress  HTGYG Show #72: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Sponsor: Try GotoMeeting free for 30 days!

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?

 
icon for podpress  HTGYG Show #70 [30:51m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

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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!

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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

 
icon for podpress  HTGYG Show #65: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

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This week, we catch up on all of your voicemail comments! We have a comment on the Percy Jackson books and movie, a new podcaster friend, a question about ear-piercing for Gary’s daughter, and Wyatt goes old-school while he can’t get on XBox Live!

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 Signal Podcast

 

About HTGYG

How To Grow Your Geek, or HTGYG for short, is a podcast created to share a love of geeking and parenting, and to provide advice on how to combine the two. There will be reviews of movies, board games, books, television shows and video games on their fun value as well as their family appropriateness, and discussions of geeky topics and parent issues. Audience participation, both parents and children, is encouraged, and email and voicemail questions will be answered if at all possible.

About Farpoint Media

FarPoint Media (FPM) has scifi media and genre literature shows featuring news and interviews with the actors, producers and writers creating your favorite TV programs and books, and has discussion shows that true fan geeks can immerse themselves in. FPM also showcases quality audio dramas to fire the imagination of its listeners, specialized sports news and information shows that take the enthusiasts beyond the box scores, comedy and variety shows that will have fans laughing out loud, and shows with experienced advice that can help improve listeners and viewers tech skills, or sharpen their writing skills.

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