Dad U: stuff for Dads

Girl parks like a boss

2013-02-05T12:07:00.004-05:00

Stanley goes to space

2012-09-27T08:34:00.001-04:00

Dad U -create memories

Book Review: All Pro Dad by Mark Merrill

2012-05-17T07:28:00.000-04:00

I blog about fatherhood under the tag Dad U, not because I think I've much to teach, but because I have a nervous suspicion of just how much more I have to learn. Four kids, yet still an undergrad, so to speak. Reading between the lines of his new book, "All Pro Dad", father of five Mark Merrill makes a similar point. The book is crammed with key pointers and observations, but with enough tales

Book Review: "Twist of Faith" by Ridley Barron

2012-04-05T11:05:00.000-04:00

Half seconds count. Half seconds can bring instant glory, or infamy, wreak absolute chaos, or encompass a life changing decision. All in the blink of an eye. A half second was all it took for two cars to collide on a country road in South Georgia, on Good Friday, 2004. A half second either way, and they pass like ships in the night. Instead, Ridley Barron stirs back to consciousness moments, or

How was your weekend?

2012-02-27T07:50:00.000-05:00

It's a simple question really, but as we have four kids under our roof, the answer can get somewhat convoluted. The long answer is*: Friday afternoon: drop Kid4 at friends house for a sleepover, so she doesn't have to sit out in the cold all weekend at soccer games. Arise before dawn on Saturday and drink coffee. Sat 7.30 am: drop Kid2 around the corner with a team mate, so he can ride to the

Book Review: Man Shoes by Tom Watson

2012-02-21T08:12:00.000-05:00

The "village" system of extended family seems to be more frayed than ever. In days past a network of fathers, grandfathers, uncles, and God-fathers served to diffuse some of the land-mines littering the paths of boyhood and adolescence. A lad knew what the boundaries were, which ones could be stretched, and which ones could not. I'm convinced that our "modern" society lacks a critical element for

The Joy of Books

2012-01-27T13:23:00.000-05:00

Teach your kids to read. That's all.

Happy Christmas!

2011-12-21T11:02:00.001-05:00

Olympic moment

2011-11-30T15:56:00.001-05:00

From The Guardian: Derek Redmond (follow link to story) "What made this moment at the 1992 Games special was it brought into focus not just one athlete's near-heroic desperation but a more universal theme: the nature of parenthood" There a better quality versions of this race online, but most have edited out the sad trek around the back turn. This clip shows the whole race.

LOL Friday...

2011-11-18T14:59:00.001-05:00

Try to keep a straight face over this one..... The "Parental Error" here is obvious: the poor execution of baby gate strategy.

Coolness....

2011-11-11T09:45:00.001-05:00

This clip, in a nutshell, manages to hit three of my favorite things simultaneously: cool time-lapse imaging, basketball and an aircraft carrier. Preview of the game: North Carolina vs Michigan State

StarWars Fatherhood PSA

2011-07-26T08:25:00.002-04:00

Factory Education

2011-07-06T07:57:00.005-04:00

Once upon a time, there was a chicken. This chicken like to scratch around in the dirt down on the farm. His momma-hen was very proud of the little guy, and taught him the ways of the farmyard. He learned where the food and water were, which hens pecked hard, where to scratch for bugs and worms, and when to come in at night to roost under mommas wing. It was a simple life, but Jr learned all

Movie Review: Courageous

2011-06-23T07:57:00.010-04:00

"Will you dance with me daddy?" Emily (pic: www.courageousthemovie.com) How often to fathers get prodded with that question (or a boy's equivalent: "Let's play!"), and how often do we excuse our way out of it? What they are really saying is: "Daddy, I need you. I need your time. I need your attention. I need you to protect and guide me. I need to set boundaries and enlarge them as I grow. I

LeBron breaks the code...

2011-06-21T07:55:00.002-04:00

Haha. So true.

Fathers Day Giveaway: Winner drawn on Fri 17th June

2011-06-13T06:49:00.053-04:00

Scrub up for Father's Day (or prod a dad you know to scrub up)! Announcing a Dad U giveaway: Lubriderm shaving kit ($40 value). Here is the blurb: Available in Light Fragrance and Fragrance Free the LUBRIDERM® Men’s 3-in-1 Lotion in Light Fragrance has a clean fresh scent, with top notes of black pepper and lime/base notes of sandalwood and musk but both offer a triple-action, aloe-enriched

Seven fatherhood lessons from the Battle of Midway

2011-06-03T08:34:00.003-04:00

Dad U doesn't get much free time to read, but since I had "accidentally" ordered "Miracle at Midway" (Gordon Prange, Donald Goldstein and Katherine Dillon, 1982) for my sons history essay (he ended writing on the Berlin airlift), I felt obliged to sneak a quick indulgence in a favorite topic: strategy and outcome in major battles. If I had not become a boring and slightly deluded scientist, I

Dad U Golden Rule #9

2011-05-24T07:28:00.001-04:00

There is always one. photo © 2009 Mindaugas Danys | more info (via: Wylio) If you are reading this, you probably have a kid. If you have a kid, you will before long experience some kind of group event: your kid and his/her peers at a party/class/sports etc. If you are particularly lucky, you will be the organizer/teacher/coach etc, at said event. It is at that time that you will run head on into

Dad U Golden Rule (DUGR) #8

2011-05-06T06:16:00.001-04:00

Do One Thing (a day). How do you, as a dad, cope with the never ending stream of fix-it, paint-it, mow-it, clean-it, feed-it, build-it, plant-it, etc, jobs that mount up with seeming robotic efficiency? I have absolutely no idea, I'm completely snowed under this Spring. It seems the worst season for sheer number of tasks around the house. But you could try my latest theory: do one thing (per

Green Lantern Party!

2011-05-03T18:43:00.000-04:00

What do you get when a troop of 6 and 7 year olds descend on your home on a Friday afternoon, with nothing by mayhem in mind? Thanks to @MomSelectAmy, instead of chaos and confusion, the powers of good prevailed! Armed with only an ENTIRE BOX! of Green Lantern toys from Mattel, budding superhero's vanquished the bad guys with super shifter action figures and the very cool Green Lantern Colossal

The Greatest Movie Ever Sold

2011-04-21T08:42:00.002-04:00

Coming up: Morgan Spurlock, he of "Supersize Me" fame, takes a look at the advertising industry. This was brought to my attention by an article in Relevant Magazine (click here). I have a healthy distaste for the industry, mostly because of the loud, in-your-face nature of TV ads (I reluctantly succumbed to ads on the blog to help pay the bills. Not that it's working). This documentary

Tax Day!

2011-04-15T06:25:00.001-04:00

Extension or not, tax-day is upon us folks! Dad U

NTDWF* Friday Post: Air France

2011-04-08T14:00:00.002-04:00

SF to Paris in Two Minutes from Beep Show on Vimeo. Dad U *Nothing To Do With Fatherhood

Thursday5 #19

2011-04-07T15:17:00.001-04:00

The Thursday Five*Five posts from the week that are an interesting read. From other dad bloggers, or related sites. brucesallan.com-Parenting tips from the poor but happy. fatherhoodfactor.com On Dads and managing anger. counselorga.blogspot.com-Raising children in a dark world. lifeofanewdad.blogspot.com -Twins are coming. Blog is going. For now. Pay Robert a visit and drop some

Courageous Fatherhood

2011-04-07T05:54:00.009-04:00

Post 4/5, Dad U Blogiversary Week. In our culture it's not particularly difficult to find examples of fatherhood failure. We are saturated daily with dofus-dad imagery, the cannon fodder of sitcoms and the advertising industry. And that's before you even get to looking at the guys that bring you these statistics (thx @FatherFactor). But instead of flailing around, feeling swamped by the rising