PoppaBlog » Gear

Essential iPhone Apps for the Little Ones

Dwayne Hoover — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 16:00:33 +0000

We brought you a post back in October breaking down some suggested iPhone applications for kids. Well it’s been a few months and in those few months, 6 trillion new applications have been released for the iPhone. Here’s a post that I came across via Lifehacker:

My recommended kid games (from A Whole Lotta Nothing)

Throw Out the Tea Kettle, This Bottle Warms Itself

Dwayne Hoover — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 02:29:44 +0000

Yeah it looks funky, but this concept could be a serious time saver. We’ve all been there…3AM and the rug rat wants some formula or momma’s nectar. Only problem is, momma’s out of town and you don’t have warm water ready to mix up some powdered goodness. By the time you get the bottle ready and heat it up, then cool it down because you WILL over heat it…junior has a face full of tears and boogies and has sustained irreparable damage to his ego that will undoubtedly push him into a long term emo-esque stage as a teen. Forget throwing the football in the yard, you’ll be shopping for skinny jeans in the girl’s section…but I digress. The iiamo GO Baby Bottle concept from Karim Rashid not only looks like your feeding your kid with a Dyson or an IKEA lamp but it will warm the contents to room temperature WITHOUT ELECTRICITY or FIRE! Something about salt and chemistry or a voodoo heat spell…the point is, no more fussing with a bottle warmer or microwave or kerosene and a lighter.

Originally saw this on Gizmodo

2009 PoppaBlog Holiday Gift Guide: Budget Gifts

Dwayne Hoover — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 16:31:39 +0000

It’s that time of year, time for all of us last minute shoppers to start scrambling to find gifts for the people that we care about. Unfortunately, for some of us, cash is tight right now. It’s been a rough couple of years and undoubtedly everyone has been impacted by the recession in one way or another. Here at PoppaBlog we like to solve problems. That being said, here are a few gift ideas for the budget minded shoppers:

Magazines: Guys like magazines. Personally, I have active subscriptions to over 10 magazines ranging from American Photo to Automobile. Pick something the guy in your life likes and get his something to read about it…you know during those 10-30minute daily reading sessions that he enjoys so much.
Tools: Guys love the big expensive pneumatic powered ratcheting torque wrenching impact gunning over the top tools that we’ll find one use for and then ditch somewhere in a remote corner of the garage for a few years. It’s in our DNA to overpay for a weapon that is too much tool for the job. Help us out and get us something small, useful and practical. Personally, I’d suggest a good multi-tool like the Leatherman Freestyle CX or any other Leatherman branded multi-tool. Under $100, even under $50 for the smaller ones and incredibly useful.
Music: Is your man obsessed with 90s rock legends like Pearl Jam, Nirvana and Nelson? Save yourself the embarrassment asking for the new Gravity Kills album at Best Buy and grab him an Amazon MP3 Gift Card (he can also use it for other merchandise).
DVDs: Men are busy creatures. It’s tough to schedule quality TV time when we’re already booked with happy hours, football and garage antics. TV on DVD is quite possibly one of the greatest inventions of the 21st century. Two of my favorites right now are Dexter and Planet Earth: The Complete BBC Series [Blu-ray]

Not a fan of reading? Here are our budget gift suggestions:

Sakura Bloom Baby Slings [outblush.com]

Dwayne Hoover — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 15:02:26 +0000

I know, you’re a big tough guy who can carry your 15lb kid all day. Yup, look at you Hercules, 21 minutes into your trip to the mall and you’re squirming and shifting the little one’s weight to give your pasty arms a break. You need to stick that kid to your chest. Besides, with the kid strapped on, you have just freed up both hands…the exact number that you need to hold a beer and smoke a cigar…or if you’re not a complete degenerate, have a soda and wave to your pastor.

Personally, I use a Baby Bjorn (also at the bottom). But a friend of mine sent me a link to the Sakura Bloom Baby Sling and I’ll be honest, at first glance, seems a bit girly, but dude on the right is totally workin’ it.

A bit pricey, but if your woman is into the trendy faux earth-momma SUV driving hippie thing, she’ll probably dig it.

Also as mentioned (and my preferred baby attachment device), the Baby Bjorn:

A Lamborghini Hybrid? Really? Why?

Dwayne Hoover — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 05:17:52 +0000

I really hope that this hybrid supercar nonsense that has been floating around is just a pile of nasty rumors started by angry hippies who hate having fun. I’m not opposed to hybrids, in fact, I think the ego boost to their owners for thinking they’re saving the planet by getting better gas mileage is worth its weight in lattes. All joking about smug Prius owners aside, I still fail to understand the need for a hybrid truck or a hybrid version of anything that will ultimately average 20 miles per gallon. What’s the point really? A modern diesel engine in a Yukon or Escalade Hybrid would probably average 10-15% more MPG than the hybrid version AND have more torque. It’s marketing, I know…you slap a “Hybrid” badge on anything and the eco-chic factor is boosted 10 fold. What about on a $200k+ car? A Lamborghini should never have anything but 10-12 cylinders of gas exploding fury propelling it. But according to the sources below, a hybrid Lambo is coming…and a hybrid Ferrari. I suppose getting 10MPG instead of 7MPG while cruising around the streets of South Beach in your quarter of a million dollar sports car will not only make a statement about how much you love mother earth, but will also save you some change. God knows, the kind of people that need to save some cash by getting an extra 3MPG are the same people that spend $250K on a car.

Read the whole story here
and on Autoblog.com

And a funny commercial from VW making fun of hybrids (I laugh every time that I see this):

So what does this have to do with being a dad? Not much, but dudes like cars.

Photographing a Kid’s Birthday Party

Dwayne Hoover — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 03:12:27 +0000

Here are some tips from Digital Photography School’s blog on getting the shots that you’ll cherish forever at your kid’s birthday party. Of course, tip #1 is to designate a party photographer, which is a good idea considering that you don’t want junior growing up thinking his pops wasn’t at his 6th birthday party since his old man isn’t IN any of the pictures that are strangely out of focus shots of his dad’s buddies and a bunch of empty beer cans. Oh sorry, was reliving some painful childhood memories there. ANYWAY, be sure to check out Digital Photography School’s blog and forums if you’re even remotely into photography. It’s great for beginners and the people there are really helpful.

5. Look for the Party Details
Another way to add interest to the shots is to focus in on the details of the party. I find that many of these shots are best taken before the guests arrive and might include shots of the cake, photos of balloons and other decorations, photos of presents stacked, shots of a set party table. Often it’s good to get in nice and close to these elements – fill the frame with them (to the point where they even become a little abstract). You’ll find that these types of shots look great scattered through an album between shots of people.

Read more: How to Photograph a Child’s Birthday Party

The Car That We Had To Have Doesn’t Work So Well With Baby

Joe New Dad — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 15:31:58 +0000

Driving down I-95 one Sunday evening after a weekend in Philadelphia, my wife said to me “wow, what is that Jeep? I LOVE those chrome handles!” Having zero kids, and no real concern for the environment, we went Jeep shopping and ended up with a 2006 Jeep Commander, with the HEMI engine of course and the 13MPG that came along with it. She had to have the chrome handles and as a man, I needed to have the HEMI engine. The Jeep was a great truck, although when gas was hovering around $4 a gallon, I hated everything about it, but the sweet saddle-brown leather, 330HP, and the “I could drive over you if I wanted to, punk” feeling kept me going. We also thought, seating for 7 means we can have 5 kids and still drive through 24 inches of mud. Thing is, an SUV that is high off of the ground (and really not that roomy inside) isn’t great for kids. The liftgate is big and heavy and can become very annoying if your constantly opening and closing it to get the stroller out. Like I said, it’s pretty high off of the ground so getting the bulky travel system car seat in and out of the backseat is a royal pain…and it only fits in the middle of the second row! so much for 5 kids…at least so much for 5 kids in car seats. Personally, I drive an Audi wagon similar to the one mentioned in a previous post and tossed my wife the keys for a few days. Within minutes, she agreed that the Jeep is too much, the Audi a bit too little.

My greatest fear has been realized…will we end up in a minivan? Oh dear god, I’m going to be that suburban dad, carting around my kid and 6 of her friends in our minivan. OK we only have one kid, I’m being dramatic, but we do need a new vehicle that is small wife (5 feet and some change) and HUGE baby (13+lbs/25 inches at 9 weeks) friendly. I think we’re part of the crossover target demographic. A vehicle that in the past I viewed as useless…dismissing it for people with too much crap to buy a car or not a big enough ego to get a gas swilling SUV…but here I am, on the verge of “needing” a small SUV/crossover (or maybe a big sedan).

So where do we start? I guess a budget would be a good place, but with some manufacturers throwing $40k cars at you with 0% financing, or willing to lease you something that normally would be a $600+/mo car payment for $350/month, I have to say, we’re open. Anything will be considered. I found myself looking at the Audi Q5, Mercedes ML (Diesel) all the way to the Honda Element and Toyota Highlander. Unlike myself, my wife prefers function over form, as long as it’s a little bit unique and/or has funky styling. Also, new or used (with remaining warranty/CPO) doesn’t matter. Decent gas mileage is a plus. Also, power liftgate is a borderline requirement (if it’s an SUV/crossover).

Hopefully, I can get Mrs. New Mom to chime in here, but a few of the vehicles that we’re going to strongly consider are the following:

Audi Q5
Audi Q7 (Used 6 cylinder model)
BMW 3-Series Wagon
Lexus RX
Toyota Highlander
Audi A6
Honda Element (you laugh, but it’s getting a test drive)
Mercedes GLK Series (I’ve pretty much ruled this one out as it gets VERY expensive once you add a few options)
your suggestions…

So please, if you have some suggestions, or know of anything that we might want to consider, please let us know. Also, I’m a sucker for a great deal (which is how I ended up with a Jeep at 0% financing and 6 months w/o a payment) so any deals you might know of, let me know in the comments. Expect to have some reviews posted here in the near future…even though we’re probably a couple of months off from making the purchase, we’re going to start auditioning a few vehicles to nail down the size and shape we’re looking for.

The Best Cars This Dad Has Driven (Cars.com)

Dwayne Hoover — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 18:22:34 +0000

A bit of a disclaimer, I didn’t write this article. In fact, some random guy who obviously hates Audis wrote it. I kid, he actually says that he loves the looks and performance of the A4 Avant…but then goes on to tell us how much it sucks because a car seat doesn’t fit in the back. Pfft, I say make mom haul the rug-rats around then. But alas, I can sympathize. I did what all responsible dads should do and traded in my 2 door Volkswagen R32 for an Audi S4 Avant. I mean it’s the least that I could have done…and the 340HP 18MPG V8 comes in handy for lighting fast runs to Babies R Us or taking an exit ramp at 70MPH to show the little ones what lateral g’s are all about. Nonetheless, I still remember the day I installed the car seat base into my STATION WAGON thinking, no sweat, there will be plenty of room, it’s a damned wagon. WRONG, it barely fit. THE BASE barely fit. Slapped the rear facing Graco travel system carrier seat thing with canopy, back massager and feet soaking tank and it essentially rendered the rear seatbelts useless (had to put it in the middle) and the two front passengers really have no option but to be a little bit cramped. I didn’t feel as bad when we had to resort to the middle position in our 7 seater Jeep Commander as well. Those travel system seats are huge, so be warned. I was thinking about putting together a post, perhaps with some video, chronicling my installation, but don’t hold your breath.

So yeah, if you’re shopping for a new whip to haul around the new addition in, this is definitely worth a read. And one tip from PoppaBlog, take the car seat with you if you have one already…

Kicking Tires on Cars.com: Happy Father’s Day: The Best Cars This Dad Has Driven

Vue Personal Video Network

Dwayne Hoover — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 02:29:18 +0000

Want to spy on your kids? I’m JOKING…kind of. I was sitting around with a friend the other day talking about baby monitors and the idea of using a WiFi based webcam with sound. I didn’t buy into the idea 100% because I was worried it would be a hassle and more configuration than I would want to do in order to see the little one from my office. Then I stumbled upon this gem:

It’s called the Vue Personal Video Network, and I really don’t know much about it other than what’s on the site. And, NO I am not receiving any sort of payment for talking about it. Just saw it, thought it looked awesome and wanted to let y’all know. Now if they wanted to send me one to formally review, I wouldn’t mind.

It is slightly more expensive than a good WiFi camera, but I think if it lives up to the hype, it could be money well spent.