Episode 104
Notes
Rant:
Marketing 101 for kids
Hi
everybody, it’s the “daddycast”…101 uses for baby
wipes for
{Clip of Adam saying “have you heard…”}
I went to the first live taping of the most popular podcast (by lots of measurements) – “This week in tech” –
it was at the apple store in
OOOH – have you seen the new iPod nano yet? I woulda bought one, heck I was in the store all
weekend! You’d think somebody would let
that announcement slip, but nooooooooooo! Anyway, going back to my original topic, I
subscribed to Daily Source Code first, then This Week in Tech, so I’m a fan of
both of ‘em. Then
I subscribed to my own show – which was quite an ego trip – signing up in iTunes for my own show!
Y’know,
my son just started school a couple weeks ago…well, Kindergarten…that isn’t
exactly an institution of higher learning, but he likes it. He’s anxious to learn. He even wants to be a teacher when he grows
up. But I don’t think he wants to be a
door-to-door salesman!
Its only
been TWO friggin’ weeks! TWO WEEKS!
He’s already bringing home promotional sales junk from school to raise
money! He can’t even read ‘em yet! They’re
obviously aimed at mommy and me. But the
PRICES! And its
all just – junk! I mean I wouldn’t buy
this stuff if I needed it! How they
expect kids to sell this I have no idea.
Talk about rejection! Is that a
lesson I want my kid learning in Kindergarten?
I think NOT! Are they adding
sales training to the curriculum? They
just throw ‘em to the wolves and expect ‘em to sell sell sell…! I hope they
don’t use the same teaching techniques for reading and math!
{cue news}
Headlines: National Center for missing and
exploited children create co-ordinated process to
reunite missing persons in the aftermath of hurricane Katrina, Parents Are Not
communicating with school counselors according to a recent survey, Parents are
using high-tech more and more to keep track of their kids, and despite efforts,
there is still a gender gap in the computer sciences field, and a follow-up to
the video game laws in Illinois.
{cue sample_17}
{cue Katrina PSA}
{cue synth news intro|
News
NCMEC Joins Search For Katrina's Missing Children
Dateline
The US
Department of Justice asked the NCMEC to set up a coordinated missing persons process to find and reunite those caught up in
Hurricane Katrina across
Photos,
names, and descriptions of missing adults, children, as well as relocated
children, are being posted on the website, NCMEC.org.
The NCMEC
has also sent out a network of volunteers armed with mobile phones - many of
whom are retired police - to affected states to help families with the
technicalities of filing their missing persons alerts.
Many of the
children who have been found alone are too young or scared to give full
information to the authorities, so some descriptions are brief.
Survey
Shows Too Many Parents Lack Contact with School Counselors
With
students heading back to school across the country, ASCA is encouraging parents
to proactively communicate with their child's school counselor at least three
times a year to best steer their child's success. "It's important for
parents to establish and maintain regular communications with the school
counselor to better understand their child's challenges and address any
concerns that could impede success," said Judy Bowers, President of the
American School Counselor Association.
"Strong
in-school counseling programs contribute to overall student success,"
added Rich Lapan, Ph.D., Professor of the Department
of Educational, School, and Counseling Psychology at the University of
Missouri-Columbia. "Regular communications between parents and counselors
can help a child tremendously."
The ASCA
survey, conducted by telephone in June 2005, measured the frequency with which
the parents initiated contact with the counselor. Almost a quarter (24 percent)
of the respondents reported initiating no contact with their child's school
counselor during the previous school year and 13 percent of surveyed parents
reported initiating only one contact during the same period.
The survey
also examined parents' perceptions of the contribution of the school counselor
in the areas of academics, personal concerns, and career and college preparation.
"We
are pleased that many parents value school counselors,
but we hope more parents can take advantage of the services they provide to
students," said Richard Wong, Executive Director of ASCA. "By
communicating with one another at the beginning, middle, and end of the school
year, parents and counselors can have a definite impact on a child's
potential."
In an
effort to help busy parents communicate more effectively with their child's
school counselor, ASCA is offering four "Back-to-School" tips to improve
parent-counselor dialogue:
-- Understand the expertise and
responsibilities of your child's school
counselor.
-- Meet or contact your child's counselor
at least three times during the
school year.
-- Discuss your child's challenges and
concerns with the school
counselor.
-- Learn about your child's school and
social connections from the school
counselor.
-- Work with the school counselor to
identify resources and find
solutions to
problems.
Parents can
go to http://www.SchoolCounselor.org to learn more about the various roles and
services of school counselors and how to work with school counselors to help
their children achieve success.
More
Parents Going High-Tech to Track Kids
By MARTHA
AP National Writer
In this
case, it isn't Big Brother who's watching _ it's Big Mother (or Father).
Increasingly, parents are using high-tech methods to track everything from
where their children are and how far they are driving to what they buy, what
they eat and whether they've shown up for class.
Often, the
gadget involved is a simple cell phone that transmits location data. The
details get delivered by e-mail, cell phone text message or the Web.
Other
times, the tech tool is a debit-like card used at a school lunch counter, or a
device that lets parents know not only how far and fast the car is going, but
also whether their child has been braking too hard or making jackrabbit starts.
The service
is called Teen Arrive Alive, one of a few companies that work with Nextel
wireless phones and a tracking service from uLocate
Communications Inc.
Other
devices that track on-the-go kids include the Wherifone,
a specialized locator phone that uses the Global Positioning System, and the CarChip, a device about the size of two nine-volt batteries
stacked together that, installed in a vehicle, monitors speed, distance and
driving habits.
Interest in
the
These days,
it's just one way technology is helping parents monitor their kids.
Georgia-based
Mealpay.com began two years ago, for instance, as a way for parents to
electronically prepay school lunches. Now _ at the request of some parents _
the service allows them to monitor what kids order in the cafeteria.
Meanwhile,
Boston-based MobileLime allows teens to use a cell
phone to buy items at fast-food restaurants, grocery stores and other
participating retailers. The cell phone is linked to a credit or prepaid card,
so parents can check.
Then
there's 'alerts' from U.K.-based Langtree SkillsCenter Ltd. Parents are notified by text message,
e-mail or phone whether a student has shown up for class and can get progress
reports (good and bad) on schoolwork. Just starting up, the company has signed
about 10
Parenting
experts have mixed views on such techniques.
In general,
monitoring a child _ knowing where they're going, who they're hanging out with
_ is a good thing, says Christy Buchanan, an associate professor of psychology
at
'But
parents have to strike some balance between knowing what their kids are up to
without the adolescent feeling like they're having their every move
controlled,' says Buchanan, who is involved in a multiyear study of teens and
parents. 'Parents shouldn't fool themselves into thinking that they can keep
their kids from making mistakes, which is part of growing up and learning.'
Sometimes,
young people find ways around technological monitoring. Buchanan knows students
who simply leave their GPS-enabled cell phones under their dorm room beds or
turn them off for extended periods of time.
Kate Kelly,
author of 'The Complete Idiot's Guide to Parenting a Teenager,' doesn't blame
them.
'Normal
spouses don't hire private detectives to track the whereabouts of their mates,
and parents who have done their jobs in establishing good relationships with
their teens shouldn't be using extraordinary high-tech devices to follow their
teens,' Kelly says. 'You've got to create a relationship built on trust, not
fear.'
Gender
gap in computer science studied.
"Restrictive
government practices that minimize choice and prioritize merit may actually
result in more gender-neutral distribution across fields of study," the
researchers said.
The
scientists analyzed data on degrees awarded during 2001 in such fields as
engineering and math-physical sciences. They found, as expected, women
predominate in such traditionally female-typed fields as education and health,
but lag in stereotypically masculine fields.
In computer
science, females are underrepresented in all 21 of the industrialized countries
considered.
"The
ubiquity of women's underrepresentation attests to
the persistence of deep-seated and widely shared beliefs that men and women are
naturally different and that they are suited for different occupations,"
the authors wrote, but said there was little evidence of social evolution since
the most economically developed nations do not produce
the greatest number of women in computer science.
Co-authored
by Maria Charles of the
UPDATE:
And that
wipes out the news…
{cue drop_2}
{cue Katrina spot – 3 doors down}
{cue Evan}
{cue spongebath}
In the
“related subject” department, I thought that this older use for baby wipes might
be a handy one in light of the tragedy of hurricane Katrina. I do NOT mean to make light of the situation
in the gulf, or in any way suggest anything demeaning to the victims. This is the baby wipes ‘daddycast’
after all, and one good use for them is as a replacement for regular showers. I actually learned this use from a friend who
was stationed in
{cue “Adore” – Alva Star (GB)}
I’ve made
donations to the red cross to help. I’ve sent spare clothes to the local
charities gathering supplies for relief efforts, and now I’m suggesting to
anyone who’s listening that it might be a good idea to get some of these baby
wipes down there so people can clean up a bit.
Its gotta be hard
going for weeks without a shower. But y’know, the volunteers helping out are generally pretty
inventive people – at least the ones I’ve met – and they’ve probably got this
all figured out already.
{cue toontown soundseeing
tour}
{cue “Angel’s Weep” – Bascom Hill
(GB)}
My wife
will be celebrating a birthday next weekend, and I dare not reveal my beloved’s
age or I shall suffer eternal damnation…but I will say she’s only about 2 weeks
younger than my hero Adam Curry (oh, by the way, happy birthday, adam!). Anyway, to
mark the celebratation of her birthday, she’s been
diagnosed with some sort of blood chemistry issue that she needs to take some
medication for. How much fun is that on
your birthday? The medicine makes her
sleepy – really sleepy – like narcolepsy-type-sleepy, where I’ll be talking to
her and she falls asleep – um – bad example – how ‘bout - she’ll be playing
with Evan and fall asleep – yeah – that’s better. So she goes to bed at 9, I go to bed at 12,
she’s fast asleep. Add to the mix our
cat, who follows me to bed every night and jumps in
the middle of us, purring until he falls asleep. My wife’s medication has a side-effect, and
now she’s taken up a new night-time
habit – snoring – loudly – I’ve thought about recording it, but I’m not
conducting soundseeing tours of my bedroom. Now I have to deal with snoring AND purring
when trying to fall asleep. I can throw
the cat outta bed, not so easy with my wife. But, to my surprise, a symbiotic relationship
has occurred. It seems, upon closer
analysis, that the cat thinks my wife is also purring, so he touches her on the
nose with his wet nose whenever she starts to snore loudly, in a show of cat-affection
I suppose, and the shock wakes my wife up, she rolls over, the cat settles down
and goes to sleep, all is good. I’ve
gained new respect for the cat.
{cue “Looking Back” – Sweet Crystal (GB)}
we’re
wiped out – thanks to…etc. etc.