Geek Dad

Author: Ken Denmead
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 1101404310
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 242

Book Description
The ultimate DIY project guide for techie dads raising kids in their own geeky image, in the spirit of The Dangerous Book for Boys Today's generation of dads grew up more tech-savvy than ever. Rather than joining the Little League team, many grew up playing computer games, Dungeons and Dragons, and watching Star Wars. Now with kids of their own, these digital-age dads are looking for fresh ways to share their love of science and technology, and help their kids develop a passion for learning and discovery. Enter supergeek, and father of two, Ken Denmead. An engineer and editor of the incredibly popular GeekDad blog on wired.com, Ken has created the ultimate, idea-packed guide guaranteed to help dads and kids alike enjoy the magic of playtime together and tap into the infinite possibility of their imagination. With illustrations throughout, this book offers projects for all ages to suit any timeframe or budget. With Denmead's expert guidance, you and your child can: •Fly a night-time kite ablaze with lights or launch a video camera with balloons •Construct the "Best Slip n' Slide Ever," a guaranteed thrill ride •Build a working lamp with LEGO bricks and CDs •Create a customized comic strip or your own board game •Transform any room into a spaceship •Make geeky crafts like cyborg jack-o'-lanterns or Ethernet cuff links Brimming with endlessly fun and futuristic tidbits on everything from gaming to gadgets, GeekDad helps every tech-savvy father unleash his inner kid-and bond with the next generation of brainiacs. Watch a Video

The Geek Dad Book for Aspiring Mad Scientists

Author: Ken Denmead
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 1101558849
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 242

Book Description
Fans of the New York Times bestselling Geek Dad and The Geek Dad's Guide to Weekend Fun will flock to the 3.0 version, The Geek Dad Book for Aspiring Mad Scientists. As Ken Denmead explains, most kids lack an understanding of science and an awareness of how it influences our everyday lives. What kids today need is a fun way to learn scientific concepts. This book will help scientists-in-the- making discover how our world works with creative project ideas, including how to: Grow crystals to power your Stargate and set your room aglow Extract your own DNA and decode your genes Build a MacGyver radio from nothing but cast-off electrical and office supplies Chock-full of instructional illustrations throughout, The Geek Dad Book for Aspiring Mad Scientists puts the fun back in science.

Mazes for Programmers

Author: Jamis Buck
Publisher: Pragmatic Bookshelf
ISBN: 1680503960
Category : Computers
Languages : en
Pages : 385

Book Description
Unlock the secrets to creating random mazes! Whether you're a game developer, an algorithm connoisseur, or simply in search of a new puzzle, you're about to level up. Learn algorithms to randomly generate mazes in a variety of shapes, sizes, and dimensions. Bend them into Moebius strips, fold them into cubes, and wrap them around spheres. Stretch them into other dimensions, squeeze them into arbitrary outlines, and tile them in a dizzying variety of ways. From twelve little algorithms, you'll discover a vast reservoir of ideas and inspiration. From video games to movies, mazes are ubiquitous. Explore a dozen algorithms for generating these puzzles randomly, from Binary Tree to Eller's, each copiously illustrated and accompanied by working implementations in Ruby. You'll learn their pros and cons, and how to choose the right one for the job. You'll start by learning six maze algorithms and transition from making mazes on paper to writing programs that generate and draw them. You'll be introduced to Dijkstra's algorithm and see how it can help solve, analyze, and visualize mazes. Part 2 shows you how to constrain your mazes to different shapes and outlines, such as text, circles, hex and triangle grids, and more. You'll learn techniques for culling dead-ends, and for making your passages weave over and under each other. Part 3 looks at six more algorithms, taking it all to the next level. You'll learn how to build your mazes in multiple dimensions, and even on curved surfaces. Through it all, you'll discover yourself brimming with ideas, the best medicine for programmer's block, burn-out, and the grayest of days. By the time you're done, you'll be energized and full of maze-related possibilities! What You Need: The example code requires version 2 of the Ruby programming language. Some examples depend on the ChunkyPNG library to generate PNG images, and one chapter uses POV-Ray version 3.7 to render 3D graphics.

The Geek Dad's Guide to Weekend Fun

Author: Ken Denmead
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 1101528605
Category : Family & Relationships
Languages : en
Pages : 241

Book Description
The wildly popular DIY dad follows up his instant New York Times bestseller with a fresh batch of geeky weekend science projects for the whole family to enjoy. Ken Denmead struck a chord with parents and kids across America with his GeekDad blog on Wired.com, which receives more than one million page views per month. His debut book, Geek Dad, was on bestseller lists and in its seventh printing just two months after hitting store shelves. With The Geek Dad's Guide to Weekend Fun, he keeps the nerdtastic novelties coming, with projects that teach readers how to: •Build homemade robots from scratch •Write and direct simple stop-motion movies •Hack into mechanical toys to add cool electronic twists, and more United by the premise that to really understand science and how something works you must design and build it yourself or remake it better, Geek Parents everywhere will celebrate this latest installment of weekend workshop wonders. Watch a Video

Geek Mom

Author: Kathy Ceceri
Publisher: Clarkson Potter
ISBN: 0823085929
Category : Crafts & Hobbies
Languages : en
Pages : 226

Book Description
The editors of GeekMom, sister site to Wired's GeekDad blog, offer a range of cool projects and parenting advice centered around raising kids in the tech age.

Geek Love

Author: Katherine Dunn
Publisher: Vintage
ISBN: 0307794482
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 366

Book Description
National Book Award Finalist • Here is the unforgettable story of the Binewskis, a circus-geek family whose matriarch and patriarch have bred their own exhibit of human oddities—with the help of amphetamines, arsenic, and radioisotopes. One of The Atlantic’s Great American Novels of the Past 100 Years Their offspring include Arturo the Aquaboy, who has flippers for limbs and a megalomaniac ambition worthy of Genghis Khan . . . Iphy and Elly, the lissome Siamese twins . . . albino hunchback Oly, and the outwardly normal Chick, whose mysterious gifts make him the family’s most precious—and dangerous—asset. As the Binewskis take their act across the backwaters of the U.S., inspiring fanatical devotion and murderous revulsion; as its members conduct their own Machiavellian version of sibling rivalry, Geek Love throws its sulfurous light on our notions of the freakish and the normal, the beautiful and the ugly, the holy and the obscene. Family values will never be the same.

Dad, How Do I?

Author: Rob Kenney
Publisher: HarperCollins
ISBN: 0063075032
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 230

Book Description
“Like the YouTube channel, this is a touching yet informative guide for those seeking fatherly advice, or even a few good dad jokes.” — Library Journal

Handy Dad

Author: Todd Davis
Publisher: Chronicle Books
ISBN: 0811879852
Category : Games & Activities
Languages : en
Pages : 570

Book Description
The host of HGTV’s Room Crashers presents twenty-five awesome projects for dads to build with their kids—including skate ramps, zip lines, go-carts, and more! On his popular home improvement show, Todd Davis is known for transforming interiors with eye-popping DIY design. But in Handy Dad, he uses his know-how to create twenty-five simple yet super-fun projects that dads can build with their kids. Dads can choose from projects that range from basic to challenging and take anywhere from five minutes to a full weekend. Readers are given all the directions they need to grab materials that can be found around the house or at the local hardware store and get to work banging up a sweet BMX ramp or half-pipe, building a tree house or tire swing, or throwing together a slip-and-slide or tie-dye station for an afternoon of fun. With plenty of color photographs, easy-to-follow instructions, and detailed illustrations, Handy Dad is chock-full of creative and inexpensive ways to keep kids (and dads) endlessly entertained.

Fringe

Author: Tara Bennett
Publisher: Titan Publishing Company
ISBN: 9781781166093
Category : Fringe (Television program)
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Book Description
Delve into television's most otherworldly phenomenon! "Fringe: September's Notebook" is a uniquely in-world collection that explores the intricate destinies of Walter Bishop, Peter Bishop, and Olivia Dunham. Gathered by the Observer known only as "September," these pages reveal new truths about the Fringe Division and Massive Dynamic. The book also closely examines the Amber timeline and the alternate universe "Over There." Packed with concept art, exclusive photos, and intriguing ephemera, "September's Notebook" will satisfy every serious fan's hunger for details about the Observers, quirks and little-known facts about each character, insight into Fringe Science, and much more. "Easter eggs" throughout build on the many symbols and codes woven into the show's fabric, uncovering truths never before revealed. With its layered storytelling, well-rendered characters, and complex overarching narrative, "Fringe" is the ideal show around which to publish, and "Fringe: September's Notebook" provides a totally immersive reading experience.

Abe Lincoln on Acid

Author: Brian Anthony
Publisher: Walker and Anthony Publications
ISBN: 9780989745765
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 334

Book Description
There are whispers even now that Abraham Lincoln never really died, that a voodoo spell cursed him with a terrible eternal life. It has even been claimed that he robbed banks in the 1930s with John Dillinger, only to mysteriously disappear once again into the pages of history. But the truth is even stranger than the rumors...Watched over by a vengeful J. Edgar Hoover and held in a secret location near his old Springfield home, Lincoln re-awakens in the 1960s, and finds himself thrust into an era even more turbulent than the Depression, a time where a divisive war is once again tearing a nation apart and political intrigue and assassinations are rampant.Escaping Hoover's clutches with a clever bit of deception, he navigates an even more treacherous and unfamiliar terrain, finding an ally in John Voci, a young San Francisco folk-singer. Together they journey across a counter-cultural landscape, meeting those who believe a great man has returned, and striving to remain free from those who want to bury him once and for all.Will Lincoln inspire the younger generation and save his country from its final reckoning, or will he turn on, tune in, and drop out?