(Warning – this post contains explicit language.)
My friend asked me if it was possible that her daughter was sexting. Gulp.
Like many of you, she bought her two tween daughters iPhones for Christmas. Like many of you, she hadn’t set rules for what the phone is ‘supposed’ to be used for, but she also hadn’t really thought about the real implications of her daughters being fully connected to a network of friends when the parental units are not around.
You better watch out, you better not cry …. SANTA CLAUS IS COMING TO TOWN!
It’s here! It’s finally here! Santa is coming, and if you want to know exactly where he is on Christmas Eve, NORAD has the tool for you.
For more than 50 years, NORAD and its predecessor, the Continental Air Defense Command (CONAD) have tracked Santa’s flight using sophisticated radar, satellites, Santa Cams and fighter jets.
When I turned 30 I wrote a letter to myself. I had completely forgotten about it until I sat and read every line (with a glass of red wine in hand) on my 32nd birthday last week. I'm proud to say I've started some of these, but embarassed to say I haven't made a dent in others...here's what I told myself my 30s would look like.
The Letter
Ok, I’ll admit it I’m scared. There is something about being “in my thirties” that just scares the crap out of me. I’m not sure what it is.
One of the joys of getting a new gadget is taking it out of the box, and quickly throwing the box away to figure out how to use it on your own.
Inside that box, there are manuals, and usually a small postcard tempting you to mail it with the promise of a warranty for your new gadget.
I'm going to take a controversial stance here. A stance that retailers are going to hate me for.
I don't send in my warranty cards.
When I learned to drive, the instructor gave me a little pocket card and told me to keep it with me in case of an accident. The card sat in my glove compartment, but when I was rear-ended it never crossed my mind to use it. Too much happened too quickly and there were so many accident details to remember.
Imagine your teenagers out on the roads this winter and ends up in the same situation. Will they remember to ask the important questions? Will they remember to write down the exact location of the accident? Will they know the right people to call?
Angus Reid recently did a survey for Best Buy which said most Moms enjoy shopping for consumer technology, and that moms are largely responsible for purchasing tech gifts this season. This is the time of year I totally prove this to be true. In the past two months, I've received more calls from friends, family and neighbours to answer questions about tech gifts than ever before.
I'll give you one guess as to where I am seeking out gift ideas for myself for Christmas – and it's not a decorating store. My favourite things usually require an outlet, and a manual (which always gets discarded, because let’s face it, half of the fun of electronics is learning as you play with them right?)
One of my favourite Christmas memories as a kid was writing to Santa. I would drop my letter in the mailbag at our Christmas parade, and check the mailbox every day waiting for him to write me back. On the day his letter arrived I felt so incredibly special, and I knew Santa was real.
I don‘t want to gross you out, but your keyboard might have poop on it. I mean the one you’re using now.
And your mouse. Yup that one. Gross.
Some studies have shown keyboards could even have 60x more ewwww in the form of dirt and bacteria such as e-coli, than a toilet seat. That’s 150x more than the acceptable limit for bacteria levels according to keepingitkleen.com.
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Krista Swanson remembers a few things about high school: falling flat on her face during a recreational volleyball game, learning to type on an electric typewriter, and being told that a woman could never make it in technology.
Fast forward a few years, and you may have seen her around town balancing a BlackBerry in one hand and an iPad in the other. Although she's no longer playing volleyball (she switched to running), she has learned how to program computer software, and become a kick-ass IT project manager. She's married to another techie who understands her addiction to Twitter a proud Mom to a geekling who can use an iPad with his eyes closed.
So whether it's an educational app recommendation to keep the kids busy on a rainy day, a review of the latest parenting gadget, or confirmation that your partner isn't crazy for wanting to buy that 110 inch projector screen for the basement, you'll find it all here.
Follow Krista on Twitter: @Ksswansong
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