jrtom

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/29/technology/29techtoys.html

I do plan to play with my kids with computers, and not just because there are kinds of activities that one can do with computers that are at least difficult otherwise. But I'm a big fan of young kids playing with physical objects, and computers lend themselves a bit more to passive entertainment than I'd like.

I'd been thinking of doing the "Buy One Get One" thing for the One Laptop Per Child project; it looks like a good idea for the charity that is in it, and the laptop itself looks like it would be hard (if not impossible) for Corwin (and, eventually, the twins) to break it.

Now, I'm a bit less sure.

If bees make you really nervous, best skip this. If it helps, though, no one was injured or even vaguely concerned.

( go beehind the cut )

On a Corwin-related note, for the first time Corwin gave me a name when I asked him for the name of one of his toy animals. Apparently his small rubber bath-toy fish is named (edit; I'd misremembered) Thomas; he gave the same name again about an hour later (and again the following morning), so I think this may be a real name.

Top 10 Strangest Lego Creations

Not sure I believe that these are the top 10--what happened to the Lego chocolate printer? (Plus, that Lego car at Legoland? Only the exterior is made out of Legos, although it's still impressive.) But interesting.

Very cool optical illusion. Brains are weird.

Why Schools Don't Educate

Not new--it's from 1990--and I'm not sure that I agree with his conclusions (and I'm not sure that what he proposes works on a large scale). But very interesting reading.