Skip to main content

Turn Your Next Toddler Playdate into the War for Arakkis

This weekend my lovely wife said something that made my mind immediately think of Frank Herbert’s classic novel, Dune. I did not know that if you sprinkle cinnamon in a sandbox that it will keep ants away.

While this is all fascinating and practical, I immediately thought the following: if you sprinkle cinnamon in a sandbox, you create a spice blow in miniature on Arakkis. What better way to engage your toddler with early science fiction / fantasy geekery?

Soon after, Lego harvesters can show up to capture the spice mass and sell it to the spacing guild. Before you know it, a byzantine world of interstellar politics will erupt in your sandbox! Native Fremen will clash with the elite warriors of House Harkonnen. From the ashes of a fallen royal house, Muad’Dib will arise and conquer the galaxy in a bloody war.


In addition to the fun of adding cinnamon to your sandbox, studious use of water toys and Bermuda grass can terraform your once barren Arakkis into a green world. Generations of Fremen and conquerors alike said that it could not be done, but you can prove them wrong.

And it all begins with one simple action:



Believe it or not, I do not have too much time on my hands.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Human Resources: Coming to Your E-Reader!

Over the next 11 weeks I will be releasing my novel, Human Resources , on Wattpad. I wrote Human Resources in between graduating with my BA, enrolling in graduate school and getting my first post-college job. It's meant to be a funny, absurdly cynical look at the future world of business and evolving technology and draws from my influences of Douglas Adams, Terry Pratchett and George Orwell. Set your reminders and check back for fresh content on or around the schedule below! March 31, 2014 April 07, 2014 April 14, 2014 April 21, 2014 April 28, 2014 May 05, 2014 May 12, 2014 May 19, 2014 May 26, 2014 June 02, 2014 Happy reading and let me know what you think!

Human Resources: Featured Sci-Fi on Wattpad

Some exciting news since I've last posted anything. My novel, Human Resources , has been a fe atured science fiction story on Wattpad! It's hard to believe it's been over 10 years since I wrote the story, and almost 11 since I self-published it - starting with iUniverse in October 2015. It's also hard to believe, given my career choices, that I've not done a whole lot to market the book outside of social media and word of mouth but I think I'll save that energy for my next burst of creativity. Anyway, please check out the book at the link above and let me know your thoughts either here or in the comments on Wattpad!

Kids' Reward Charts and the Treasure Box

Being a parent to two children under 4 and caring a great deal about how our kids turn out with respect to manners and courtesy, I am so glad my lovely wife devised a daily rewards system ritual for the kids. The Process The kids need to behave a certain way consistently throughout the day and perform specific chores in order to get stickers. These stickers go into a chart or grid and at the end of the day we review and provide feedback on how the day went. If they fill up their charts, then they get to pick anything they want from the "Treasure Box". The Template Each child gets his or her own chart. The tasks or behaviors are "SMART" (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Time-bound). Don't worry, we aren't trying to micromanage our children like the " anal retentive chef ". Here's a link to a PDF of our two kids' reward charts  if you're interested in trying this yourselves. The Review Process We tre...