#BlogHer10 Memories Part 1 – The #ChevyBlogHer RoadTrip To NYC

BlogHer 2010 was filled with a ton of great memories.  I got to meet a lot of great people, attended some informative sessions, spoke with company reps, got tons of swag, and even partied a bit.  I think it’s going to take me a bit to process all that went on…. like, say, a week.  So, if you’ll excuse me, I think I’m going to declare this week BlogHer 2010 Memories Week on TechyDad.com.

We’ll start with our car ride down.  After dropping the boys at B’s parents’ house, meeting CutestKidEver, packing the car, dropping more stuff at B’s parents’ house that we forgot and figuring out how to set our Chevy Tahoe Hybrid’s GPS, we were on our way.

Oh, about that Tahoe Hybrid.  Chevy loaned us the car for the trip down and back.  It was completely tricked out: rear camera for seeing behind you when you back up, GPS, XM radio, OnStar, etc.  It was an amazing vehicle.

We took turns driving the car.  B drove first and then CutestKidEver.  I was last as I was the designated "drives in NYC" driver.  I’ll admit that the GPS directions didn’t take us on the best route in the city, it took us down quite a ways only to take us back up, but overall it was a nice feature to have.  And, since it recalculates routes on the fly, you could ignore its advised route and still not get lost.

Before the trip, I had the idea of taking photos every 5 or 10 minutes from out of the front window and stringing them together into a movie.  For privacy’s sake (i.e. to not make the video a "how to reach TechyDad’s house"), I started a bit in on the journey.  Also, at the end, we wound up circling the block a bit trying to find the parking garage so we forgot to take a few photos.  In any event, here’s our trip down in about four minutes.

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Disclaimer: We applied for and were selected as one of the 10 groups for the Chevy BlogHer carpool.  Chevrolet loaned us a Tahoe Hybrid to drive to and from BlogHer 2010. They paid for parking during our stay and provided goodies to enjoy during our trip. The opinions expressed above are my own.  No other compensation was given and Chevorlet did not ask me to write this post.

Aloha Friday: New York City Memories #BlogHer10

This is a special post not only because it is my 50th Aloha Friday, but also because it is about a place that is special in my heart: New York City. I’m writing and scheduling this from my house, but by the time you read it, I’ll be in NYC attending BlogHer 2010.

Growing up, my father worked in the city and every so often we would get to go to his office. I remember excitedly riding the train and subway. As we walked down the streets of the city, my sister and I would twist our necks to see the tops of the gigantic buildings. (By contrast, years later, when B showed me her home city, I felt let down as I grew up thinking city = towering buildings.) When we got to my father’s building, we would run up the steps, through the revolving door, through the revolving door, through the revolving door…. well, you get the point.

When we were done with the revolving door (or when our father said we were done), we would go to the elevator. Up we would go about twenty or so stories, the exact floor escapes my memory at the moment, and over to my father’s office. He had a big window to look out of and boy did the people and cars look tiny.

Later, during college, I interned at a PBS affiliate in New York City, WNET. Before my first day, my father accompanied me into the city and showed me how to navigate from where my train would leave me off, through Penn Station, to the appropriate subway lines and to my building. Without his help, I’d have likely wandered around for hours on my first day. Thanks to his assistance, I hardly ever got lost. Just one time, really, when I almost boarded a train for New Jersey instead of one for Long Island… Oops!

I know that BlogHer is going to be busy, but there is so much in the city that I’d love to do and see. I’d want to see the Museum of Natural History (would like to see it with NHL as well). I’d like to travel to the Lower East Side to get some of the best pickles around from NYC Pickle Guys. I’d like to catch a Broadway show and see Times Square. I’d like to visit Ground Zero, see the Empire State Building, see the Statue of Liberty and Central Park and …. Well, I guess you get the idea. Luckily, the city is a quick (relatively speaking) train ride from our house. Alternatively, we could visit my parents and take the LIRR from there into the city.

While I don’t think we’ll get to see many sights in New York City on this trip, I’m sure we’ll have plenty of great memories of BlogHer 2010!

My Aloha Friday question for today is: Have you ever been to New York City? If so, what was your favorite thing to do/see there? If not, what would you most like to do if you got the chance to visit there?


Thanks to Kailani at An Island Life for starting this fun for Friday. Please be sure to head over to her blog to say hello and sign the MckLinky there if you are participating.

Aloha Friday by Kailani at An Island Life

Aloha #50

On the Road Again…. Headed Off To #BlogHer10

As you read this, B, CutestKidEver and I will be packing ourselves into a nice, big Chevy Tahoe Hybrid and headed on the road. Our roadtrip will take us into New York City for BlogHer 2010. As I write this (and prepare it to be scheduled for posting), our bags are mostly packed. Our schedules are printed and we’re getting psyched about the trip.

This will be the first time we’ll be taking a trip without the boys. NHL has slept over Nana and Papa’s house before, but we were always right there in our house (less than a mile away). JSL has never slept over anywhere if we weren’t there. This will be a new (and hopefully good) experience for him.

In addition to spending some quality kid-free time together, we hope to be able to meet a lot of people both new and folks we talk to online. We also hope to connect with some great companies, learn more about the art of blogging and even party a bit. (Yes, I have sparkles for Sparklecorn!)

If you’ll be at BlogHer, I hope to see you there!

Twisting and Sliding Fun with Rubik’s Slide

Growing up, I loved Rubik’s Cubes, but I had a horrible secret: I couldn’t solve one. I could get one side all solved, but that was it. After that, I was just helplessly twisting and turning until another color was solved… and the first one was scrambled. Still, I loved spending time twisting and turning them trying to figure it out.

A while back, I won a Rubik’s TouchCube and I loved it. It was just like the Rubik’s Cube, only with touch-sensitive pads. You could have the cube self-solve too. This was cool, but it wound up not getting used often. The problem was two-fold. First, I still couldn’t solve it on my own. Secondly, I didn’t have much time to spend trying to solve it.

These problems turn into advantages with the Rubik’s Slide. Mine happened to come without a manual. While this mistake was quickly fixed, I was able to figure it out in a few minutes. You basically have six possible moves: Slide Up, Slide Down, Slide Left, Slide Right, Twist Left or Twist Right.

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Meanwhile, the “playing surface” has been simplified. No longer do you need to get 54 colors into the appropriate locations along a cube. Instead, you need to get up to 9 lit up squares (either red or blue) to match the appropriate pattern. Not only is this easier, but there are three modes of play: Easy, Medium and Hard. You can find the level that suits you best and play that one without feeling like the puzzles are way too difficult.

Rubik’s Slide has two modes of play. In Free Play, you solve puzzle after puzzle for as long as you like. In Lightning Round, you solve 10 puzzles as quickly as you can.

Here’s a video I shot of me solving a few Easy Free Play puzzles. (It looks more difficult than it is because I was videoing with one hand and twisting/sliding with the other.)

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This is definitely a fun addition to the Rubik’s family and I would recommend it to anyone. It’s great for involved puzzle solving sessions or a quick game here or there. I’ll even be bringing mine to BlogHer just in case I get the urge to solve a puzzle or two.

Disclaimer: I recieved a complimentary Rubik’s Slide to review. No other compensation was given. The opinions expressed above are my own.

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