“Lael, don’t. Daddy will get mad,” Seth says two or three times while I am working. “What is Lael trying to do?” I ask as his words finally cut through the fog. “Lael wants to thumbtack the blanket to the floor.” “Lael NO! That’s very creative and very wrong.” “Dad, ...

I keep returning to a post by Rafe Furst at The Emergent Fool that I read last year. I have since seen it discussed a fair bit on Twitter and thrown around amongst people who call themselves social entrepreneurs. It seems to me this could be a great future idea for geek ...

Let’s say you have millions of pounds of tomato products that have high levels of mold. Do you: Throw the stuff away and claim a tax break? Reprocess the sauce as animal feed? Bribe a food industry exec and certify the products as safe? If you answered 3, you might ...

I was checking out at Trader Joe’s a couple days ago when I noticed a note taped to the raised chunk of wood customers use to sign checks. Customers were being warned to not eat Chocolate Chip Chewy Coated Granola Bars or else risk getting a serious food-related illness. The ...

Lately little man has been acquiring quite the vocabulary, so much so that I have to think twice about what comes out of my mouth for fear that he will repeat it. For the longest time the only things he really said were were ‘kitty’, ‘mum’ and ’spoon’ and ...

If you are trying to pick out books for your children or teens to read, my wife offers this years’ Cybils winners on her site. Judges poured through the books of 2009 to find parents the best of the best for their children. It’s a great list!

"I'll keep you from reading if you don't give me another Skittle." -- Lael, employing a classic technique for extorting candy from her brother.

For chicken, the USDA has supplied schools with thousands of tons of meat from old birds that might otherwise go to compost or pet food. Called “spent hens” because they’re past their egg-laying prime, the chickens don’t pass muster with Colonel Sanders – KFC won’t buy them – and they ...

My daughter is big on cutting things up; she'll use the scissors on just about anything. I decided to blog this straight from my new Blackberry Tour, though I'm guessing the photo will be turned the wrong way. (Yup, looks like I'll have to remember to always shoot the camera ...

“Dad, we’re pretending we’re on a date.” That’s what my 7-year-old son said as he sat on a rocking bench with his arm around a red-headed girl 4 inches taller than himself. Actually, the girl, who Seth plays golf with, is only one day older than my boy. But her ...