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Rob Deakin is a Lego fan and incredibly passionate about supporting children with developmental issues through organized Lego play.

Rob has seen first hand the powerful benefits of Lego for children with Autism and Asperger’s in helping them to communicate, learn to play and develop social skills. There is increasing research and evidence that Lego is useful because it is both open-ended, but with a specific structure and order when building. Rob is part of a team that has established a foundation called ASD Aid. GeekDad recently featured a piece on ASD Aid that is committed to supporting the development of children on the spectrum through the use of Lego-based therapy and play.

Together with a number of people, Rob is looking to establish two Melbourne-based Lego play clubs specifically for kids with Autism or Asperger’s and their families and he is holding a benefit on the weekend of Melbourne’s annual Brickvention Expo which showcases the best of Australia’s AFOL (Adult Fans of Lego) creations.

On Saturday evening of the expo, ASD Aid will be launching their program for 2012. I’m told it will be a fairly informal event where you can wander around and see the amazing creation whilst enjoying a glass of wine with significantly less crowds than the 15,000+ expected through the exhibits over the weekend. The evening will include the opportunity to hear a talk from Ryan McNaught – Australia’s only Lego Certified Professional.

If you are in town, this is one worth supporting on Saturday, January 21. From 6.30pm onwards there will be finger food and a bar will be available for drinks - you can book here.

Or, if you’d like to know more about the work Rob has been undertaking and supporting you can drop him an email at info@asdaid.org.

Teens playing tabletop RPGs at the Game Loft in Belfast, Maine, a teen center that uses D&D and other games to teach leadership, social skills and community service. (photo: Ethan Gilsdorf)

A teen center called The Game Loft that teaches Dungeons & Dragons as a path towards leadership, socialization and community service needs the help of the geek community.

In tiny Belfast, Maine, you’ll find this unique after-school program for middle and high school kids in the attic of a game shop called All About Games. Here, miracles happen. Shy kids learn how to solve problems, find friends, and fellowship. They play games, get a free meal, and have fun.

I’ve visited the center and have written about it. I can attest The Game Loft is a wonderful place, run by two tireless, dedicated leaders, Ray and Patricia Estabrook.

The participants think so, too.

“Role-play groups help you have new experiences and connect with people in your group in a way that would not be possible otherwise,” says Dakota Wing, a high school junior who has attended the program for four years. “You share things, you experience new things, and you develop intense friendships in a role-play group.”

“We have a large percentage of kids who are struggling either with behavior or academics at school,” says co-founder Patricia Estabrook, who with her husband Ray (both lifelong gamers) realized their store had become an ad hoc gathering place for youths who wanted to learn and play games, and opened their community center in the 1998 in their game shop’s attic. The innovative hangout is the only gaming-focused youth center in the country.

“We mostly serve youth who do not participate in other after-school or community activities,” says Ms. Estabrook.  Most are boys and primarily low-income. The Game Loft programs are free to all.

But The Game Loft is in financial trouble.

In 2009 it was bought by Spurwink Services, the largest social service program in Maine. At that time its budget was $100,000 and it served some 80 kids. Over the past two years, Spurwink helped fund an expansion that included more experienced staff, more staff training, and an increased membership to 160-plus members, not counting drop-ins. The Game Loft even launched a satellite program in nearby Unity, Maine, serving 20 kids per week.

Co-founder Ray Estabrook, left, with teens and staff at The Game Loft, planning their next gaming session. (Photo: Ethan Gilsdorf)

Then, this November, Spurwink got hit with funding cuts. The result: The Game Loft had to trim $35,000 from its budget. Now it’s down to operating on $95,000, which meant laying off one full-time employee, drastically reducing all the other three staff members’ hours, and cutting how many days they’re open. Even Patricia Estabrook is down to 20 hours per week.

“I know that in Maine it’s hard to look at things like ‘gaming program for kids’ versus ‘heat assistance and basic needs,’” said Monique Bouchard, co-founder of SnowCon, a northern Maine gaming convention (coming up Jan 13-15). ”But I think that a program like this makes the youth it serves better prepared for life — and likely less likely to need assistance down the road. That’s kind of a leap maybe, but I believe in the power of inspiration.”

Ms. Bouchard asks the geek and gamer community help publicize the program and its urgent need for assistance. Any help, she says, would be “a life-saver.”

She adds: “It serves a very low-income community and is not only, in my view, a dream-maker and hope-creator that teaches real life skills through gaming — diplomacy, cleverness, wisdom, math — but for many kids, [it's] a safe place to go and a hot meal as well.”

Clearly, sitting around a table munching snacks is about more than just fun. In my case, as a troubled teen, D&D saved me. I was able to absorb myself in an engrossing activity, and finally find a group of friends who “got” me.

Just ask Stephen Colby, another high school junior and Game Loft regular: “I have discovered things about myself. I volunteer. I know that my work makes a difference in the community. I have experienced new things that I would never have known existed  … What we do is fun but it helps you learn.”

“Unlike other places where there is a division between adults and youth, at The Game Loft we are respected and genuinely liked by adults,” says Dakota Wing. “We share games and activities and they expect us to rise to their level.”

“The conversations at The Loft are intense and in-depth,” adds Stephen. “You can trust people there. You know that both the staff and the other members are there for you. They are all my friends and they all support me.”

Here’s how to help:

• Make checks payable to: Spurwink Services, 899 Riverside Street, Portland, ME 04103.  Donors are welcome to request that the funds be used for the general benefit of The Game Loft.

• Contributions can be made online through Network for Good www.networkforgood.org

• For more information about the program visit the website www.thegameloft.org

Forget your gun, your sword, your axe, and even your chainsaw. One on one, these are suitable weapons against a slow or fast zombie, but when you’ve got dozens, maybe even hundreds of zombies coming your way, you better run! Pause to fire off a round or take a swing at the nearest zombie and the rest are that much closer to making a meal out of you.

Nope, when you’re outnumbered, the only thing you can do is run for your life. And when you’ve got hundreds more survivors surrounding you, all trying to evade the horde and make it to safety? Well, that’s when you know you’re at the Run for Your Lives 5K Obstacle Course Run.

The first RFYL event was held last year in Baltimore, but the event coordinators have since added many more cities, including Boston, Seattle, Austin, and my own Atlanta… plus many more.

Now, this is no typical 5k run. First, it’s got obstacles that will likely vary from city to city. If you watch the video, you’ll see water, hills of hay, and other obstacles that require you to climb, crawl, and duck. The event planners promise you’ll get dirty, wet, and maybe even a little bloody (probably from skinned elbows and knees). But the obstacles aren’t the only thing you’ll be dealing with if you participate. Nope… you’ll be chased by zombies, both fast and slow varieties.

Each participant will be given a number of flags (like flag football) that will be worn by the runners. It’s the job of the zombies to take your flags, reducing you to a card-carrying member of the undead should you lose all your flags. I can’t speak to all the cities, but the Atlanta run that’s scheduled for March 3rd promises 12 obstacles and dozens of waves of runners released in packs of 300 or more at intervals to make the run from Start to Finish.

Does it sound fun? Oh, yeah. I’m not much of a runner, but between now and March 3rd, I’ve decided to prep for it by getting my running shoes out and at least trying to make an effort to survive the walking dead. I’m also trying to recruit some local friends to participate — like the old joke about being chased by a bear, I don’t have to outrun the zombie, I just need to outrun my friends. But given that the event planners are not releasing details about how many zombies will be covering each of the twelve obstacles, I have a feeling it doesn’t matter who’s the fastest since based on snippets from the video, it appears that dozens of zombies will be placed directly in the paths of runners.

The rules state that the zombies cannot trip, hit, or bite runners; their sole job is to grab a flag. And what’s really interesting about the event is that instead of paying to be a runner, your can pay a reduced fee to be a zombie. You’ll need to arrive 2 hours before your scheduled shift to get a complete zombie makeover from some professional special effect makeup artists… and they encourage you to dress the part! Zombie spaces are apparently limited, so if that’s more your speed, you’ll want to check the official website and your city to see if space is still available on Team Dead.

But I’m a survivor. I plan on making it to the Finish Line, be it a waiting helicopter, an Army personnel carrier, or some pizza and drinks and live music. And I’m hoping to have some other geek dad survivors join me on March 3rd. We all know that in the movies, the scientists (geeks) rarely make it out alive, but maybe it’s time to prove that brain beats brawn, huh?

Video below:

I’d like to thank Kerry O’Neill for kindly providing two free tickets to run that I’ll be awarding to two lucky GeekDad.com readers who would like to run on Team Geek Dad on March 3rd. If you would like to participate, leave a comment telling me exactly how you plan on surviving the Atlanta zombie infestation. I’ll pick two lucky winners from all comments submitted by 11:59pm EDT on January 12, 2012, who will each receive a free admission ticket as a runner in the Atlanta-based race. All comments are welcome, but if you’re submitting a comment to participate in the contest, add the line “I Want To Run With Team Geek Dad” somewhere in your comment. And please only do so if you really do intend to participate as I want to make certain the free tickets are put to good use. I’ll be posting a follow-up after the run, including whether I survived or now enjoy brain-soufflee, so stay tuned.

Images provided courtesy of HGL.

Doctor Stephen Hawking (Image: hawking.org.uk)

Today, the eminent physicist Dr. Stephen Hawking is 70 years old. Dr. Hawking has numerous scientific achievements, making him a household name and a modern icon of the term “genius.” From Dr. Hawking’s website:

Stephen Hawking has worked on the basic laws which govern the universe. With Roger Penrose he showed that Einstein’s General Theory of Relativity implied space and time would have a beginning in the Big Bang and an end in black holes. These results indicated that it was necessary to unify General Relativity with Quantum Theory, the other great Scientific development of the first half of the 20th Century. One consequence of such a unification that he discovered was that black holes should not be completely black, but rather should emit radiation and eventually evaporate and disappear. Another conjecture is that the universe has no edge or boundary in imaginary time. This would imply that the way the universe began was completely determined by the laws of science.

On this particular birthday, I ask you not to focus on Dr. Hawking’s scientific achievements but, instead, on the achievement of his life itself. It was 49 years ago that Dr. Hawking was diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. Typically, patients diagnosed with ALS have a life expectancy of a handful of years from the onset of symptoms. His survival, despite the odds, is a tribute to his own humanity and will to survive, the support of his friends and family, and the skills of medical and assistive technology experts.

I have always been a great admirer of Dr. Hawking’s work as well as his ability to overcome the obstacles in his life. Please join all of us at GeekDad in wishing Dr. Stephen Hawking a very happy 70th birthday, and many more to come!

Addams‘s cartooning career took off when, in 1932, he sold his first cartoon to The New Yorker — and from 1938 until his death fifty years later, the magazine printed his cartoons regularly. During World War II, Addams served in the Army domestically, making cartoon training films for the soldiers. He was married three times, last to Marilyn Matthews Miller, who went by the nickname “Tee.” In keeping with his sense of humor, they were reportedly married in a pet cemetery and named their estate in the wealthy Long Island town of Sagaponack “The Swamp.”

Today Addams is probably best remembered for the entertainment his cartoons spawned, including two live-action TV series, two animated TV series, three movies, and a Broadway musical. While his cartoons never really had a story to them — he preferred the one-panel format — you can see the foundation for the Addams Family characters and house in many of his cartoons, and in the Doodle art above.

If you’re unfamiliar with his work, I suggest checking your local library for books of his cartoons, as many are out of print. There are two books in print that you might enjoy, though: Chas Addams Happily Ever After: A Collection of Cartoons to Chill the Heart of Your Loved One ($20 on Amazon) and Charles Addams: The Addams Family: an Evilution ($26.37 on Amazon). I highly recommend seeking his cartoons out — you’ll get the feeling that the phrase “delightfully twisted” was invented with them in mind.

Hayao Miyazaki. Photo: Natasha Baucas, via Wikimedia Commons

Today marks the 71st birthday of legendary animator and director Hayao Miyazaki. Sometimes referred to as “Japan’s Walt Disney,” Miyazaki is responsible for some of the best animated films of the last 30 years, including (but certainly not limited to) My Neighbor Totoro, Princess Mononoke, Ponyo, and the brilliant Spirited Away — which remains the only film produced outside the English-speaking world to have won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature.

Growing up, Miyazaki had wanted to be a Manga artist, but reportedly shifted his focus to animation during high school. After working as an animator in other studios in his twenties and thirties, Miyazaki came into his own with 1984′s Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, the first feature he both wrote and directed. The next year saw the founding of Studio Ghibli with fellow director Isao Takahata, and the animation studio quickly gained a reputation as one of the best in the world.

Beginning with Princess Mononoke in 1999, Disney has released most of Miyazaki’s films in the United States with dubs done by prominent actors and actresses. While that film did poorly at the box office, likely mostly due to lack of marketing, later releases such as Spirited Away and Ponyo have done quite well. Next month Disney will release a similarly-dubbed version Studio Ghibli’s The Secret World of Arrietty, the first Ghibli film distributed by Disney that was not directed by Miyazaki, but rather by his protégé Hiromasa Yonebayashi.

So please join all of us at GeekDad in wishing Hayao Miyazaki a very happy 71st birthday, and many more to come!

Newton uses a prism to demonstrate that white light can be broken down into a spectrum of colors. In Lego. Credit: Kubik-Rubik

Today is Sir Isaac Newton’s birthday (on the Gregorian-adjusted calendar). In addition to laying out the Laws of Motion, he also did innovative work on the properties of light, as can be seen in this Lego re-enactment. And of course the logo for Apple, Inc. would only have half the symbolism it does if it weren’t for him.

Image: 1000days.net

On April 21st, 2007, Reid Stowe and Soanya Ahmad left land and embarked on an incredible voyage. Dubbed the Mars Ocean Odyssey, it was not a trip to the fourth planet from the sun, but an inspiring journey to test the limits of man in harsh conditions, stuck on a ship for the length of time it takes to travel to Mars and back. During those 1,000 days, they did not refuel or resupply or come in contact with land of any sort. The entire journey was blogged and could be followed in real time. Partway through the journey, Soanya became pregnant and arrangements were made for her to be taken off the schooner, Anne, by way of another boat to preserve Reid’s non-stop voyage. After 1,152 days at sea and breaking numerous records, Reid and his schooner returned safely to land and he was able to meet his son, Darshen, for the first time.

The Schooner, Anne (Image: 1000days.net)

Now Reid, Soanya and the schooner Anne are off on another adventure, this time with a crew and their three-year-old son along for the journey. A month in to their new voyage, this time sailing to the Guyana jungle in South America, they’re blogging their adventure again, describing sailing through squalls, repairing sails and tending to their ship as they go. It’s a great read, if only to learn more about sailing and what it takes for long-distance voyages.

Without a doubt, Reid has some serious sailing skills, but it’s doubly interesting to peek into their voyage to see how Darshen is enjoying himself. In their posts, they describe celebrating Christmas at sea, swimming in the ocean and tending to a manual bilge pump, all while their son joins in. In many respects, family life on open water isn’t drastically different from our own on land. And while this might be a less arduous journey — especially with a crew along to share in tending to Anne — sailing can still be dangerous. However, Reid and Soanya’s life is clearly at sea and it’s great that they are raising their own child to participate in that experience.

All told, it’s a fascinating journey and one I’ve been following actively since 2007. And I’ve got to say that the adventure just got a little more personal following Reid and Soanya’s journey as parents as well. You too can follow their voyage at the 1000days.net website, and consider adding their RSS feed to your reader for daily updates on the high seas.

And to Reid, Soanya, Darshen and the crew of the Anne, safe travels.

Photo from Wikimedia Commons

John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, the father of modern fantasy writing, was born January 3, 1892 in what is now South Africa. Best known, of course, for his works The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion, Tolkien served in the British Army in World War I and was the father of four children, two of whom currently survive. He was also a close friend of fellow author C.S. Lewis, for whose conversion to Christianity from atheism Tolkien was partly responsible — thus one can accurately say that Tolkien was in part responsible for the existence of Lewis’s famous Narnia series, though he (Tolkien) cared little for the books.

So raise a good deep mug of Shire-made beer or a glass of Elven wine — or, if you must, a similar substitute — to the memory of J.R.R. Tolkien, gone from this world since 1973 but always remembered for the world he brought to life.

Note: The original version of this article referred to this as Tolkien’s “eleventy-tenth” birthday. As several people rightly pointed out, it is properly his twelvetieth birthday. Thanks to everyone who helped set us straight.

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