Encouraging Things to Say to Kids « Parenting From Scratch
Here is a list of encouraging phrases to say to kids. Some of these examples fit many kinds of scenarios, and others are responses I’ve said to my kids about something specific that happened. I try to say these kinds of things daily, and, once I understood what makes a response encouraging (as opposed to praising, belittling, fixing, etc.), it’s actually not very difficult to fit them into conversation.
Every day my kids have opportunities to feel proud and to want me to encourage them even further. But rather than say, “Good job, that makes me so happy,” I try to find a way to focus it on their efforts. In short, encouraging statements keep the task/ action/ problem/ accomplishment about the child, not about the parent.
Hard, but so worthwhile.
Changing Vancouver is a fantastic site that takes historical photos and recreates them now, then shows the results side-by-side. Fascinating for anyone that has spent time in our beautiful city.
Source: changingvancouver.wordpress.com
(via Photo by Glen_Trainor)
Me in Minnesota two weeks ago. Wishing for some of that Minnesota snow before Christmas here in Vancouver.
Source: campl.us
Best fails of 2011 || TNL (by TwisterNederland8)
Some of these are hard to watch, but others are hysterical.
Source: youtube.com
What happened to Lego?
The reality is that the unisex, open-ended, building and imaginative creation sets that my peers normally associate with Lego are gone. Look at this ad:
That ad is remarkable for two reasons: First, it presents Legos as a playset where you can just make stuff, and it revels in it. But even more remarkable is that it features a girl holding Legos. I seriously can not remember the last time I saw a Lego marketing image of a girl holding their product.
I expected to have a HUGE Lego collection with—I mean for—my kids when I became a father. But the Lego that I knew as a kid seems nowhere to be found. The current-day sets are all about providing the imagination for you instead of enabling you to explore your own imagination.
It’s a crying shame.
Source: sinker
The Failed Promise of ‘The Verge’ — The Brooks Review
The truth hurts.
It’s true that The Verge seems to be lacking a voice. Those guys were never influenced by advertisers back when they were at Engadget, so I can’t imagine it happening now. It sure reads like they’re afraid to piss anyone off, though.
Ben just won me back as a reader with this piece.
The simple truth that eludes most of us, expressed in 44 seconds.
Steve Jobs’ Vision of the World (by gocarlo)
Source: youtube.com
American Drink: Back to School Special
This one accidentally sat in my drafts for a couple of months, so it’s not quite as timely as it otherwise would have been. It’s still pretty funny though.
At the end of a busy school day, kids need some love from a relaxed, supportive parent. At the end of a busy work day, some of us need a little help to become that parent. Here’s what to do when the closest mixer is a juice box.
Playground Vacation
1 box tropical fruit juice
2 oz. rum
…
Source: americandrink
chpwn blog: Carrier IQ is on iOS
Carrier IQ, the now infamous “rootkit” or “keylogger”, is not just for Android, Symbian, BlackBerry, and even webOS. In fact, up through and including iOS 5, Apple has included a copy of Carrier IQ on the iPhone. However, it does appears to be disabled along with diagnostics enabled on iOS 5; older versions may send back information in more cases. Because of that, if you want to disable Carrier IQ on your iOS 5 device, turning off “Diagnostics and Usage” in Settings appears to be enough.
So there is Carrier IQ code in iOS, but that the majority of it is inactive, and that which is active (diagnostics and usage) can be turned off in the settings. Also, if you’re on Rogers or Telus in Canada, or Verizon in the US, Carrier IQ is not being used at all.
If you have an iPhone or iOS device with a 3G data connection, I encourage you to go to your Settings app, then tap About, then scroll to the bottom and tap Diagnostics and Usage. Then tap “Don’t Send”, and you will have completely disabled Carrier IQ on your device.
Source: chpwn
Rogers and Telus confirm that Carrier IQ is not present on their devices | MobileSyrup.com
Daniel Bader writing for MobileSyrup:
Rogers has done an investigation and has confirmed that Carrier IQ is not present on any of its devices. On Twitter they stated that “Hi all. I’m happy to confirm that we have investigated and Carrier IQ is NOT on any of our devices”. TELUS also confirmed that they have not installed Carrier IQ on any of their devices. We are waiting to hear back from Bell.
Street Skiing – it’s hard to imagine what that is, but it’s exactly what you’re thinking. And this was filmed in Trail, BC.
(by Sherpas Cinema)
(via Kottke)
Source: vimeo.com
Researcher’s Video Shows Secret Software on Millions of Phones Logging Everything | Threat Level | Wired.com
Many people avoid iPhones and Apple products like the plague because they’re afraid of the control Apple exerts over their products. That control can be a good thing though; it turns out that most modern Android, Blackberry, and Nokia phones ship with hidden tracking software that logs everything from who you call and when to the keystrokes you type (even when communicating with secure servers), and sends them off to the spyware company’s servers. It’s not clear whether it’s the handset manufacturers or the telecom companies that are allowing this, but either way it’s despicable.
Damn Apple and their tight control over their products.
Gmail for iPhone and iPad Is So Terrible It Must Be Some Sort of Sick Joke
This marks the first time I’ve ever linked to Gizmodo. They nailed it.
