Reviews – Page 4 – Tech, writing, and tech writing

Don’t Let the Pigeon Run This App

Icon for Don't Let the Pigeon Run This App Another favourite first-a-book-now-an-app with the small people in this house is Don’t Let the Pigeon Run This App! The pigeon is a mischievous little guy who wants to do things a pigeon ought not to and will do his best to cajole, blackmail and bribe the reader into letting him do what he likes. I first heard the book “Don’t Let the Pigeon Ride the Bus” recommended on an American parenting podcast. I got a copy and the boys loved it, so when I discovered there was an app, I was more than happy to give it a go.

The app allows children to: create a story of their own (by filling in specific gaps in the standard story), save favourite stories to “read” again later, and learn to draw the pigeon.

Designed with multiple ages in mind, there are 3 ways to create a story:

The Egg way is to shake the heck out of the pigeon (by shaking the iThing) when prompted, which results in random selections at key points in the story.
The Chick way is to begin with a quiz where you pick from a list of options for each of the items to be filled in (you choose at the start, without context, and the options vary each time you run the app).
The Big Pigeon way is to answer questions into the iThing’s mic (“name your favourite food”, “what’s your favourite game?”), so the possibilities are endless.

You can save your favourite stories generated the Big Pigeon way to read/listen back to over and over.

Boys being boys, my two get a greater kick from saying silly (sometimes rude) things that make no sense and hearing their voices repeat these things back in the middle of the story, than trying to create something that’s genuinely amusing from a narrative point of view. But, ultimately, if that keeps them amused for any length of time, then I think the app is doing its job.

The part the boys spend least time on, but that entertains me a bit, is the “Draw the Pigeon” lesson, where you’re given shapes to trace around at each stage, and your final result is presented to you. There’s no policing of how close you are to the guide lines, so you can augment your pigeon as you like at any stage to amuse yourself. Again, if you like the results of your efforts, you can save the picture to admire again at your leisure.

Overall, because it’s a bit different every time, but the expectation that it’ll be fun is established early, and it’s as easily used and enjoyed by a not-terribly-verbal 2 year old as an overly-verbal 5 year old, this app is a winner for us.

Book Review: Fitness for Geeks by Bruce W Perry; O’Reilly Media

My latest choice of book as part of the O’Reilly Blogger Review Program was Fitness for Geeks by Bruce W Perry.

I was hoping for something light, fun and filled with recommendations of gadgets and apps that might entertain and motivate me to exercise. This book is not that. It is absolutely not a light or an easy read – it’s a serious, detailed, in-depth treatment.

If you’re into facts and figures, and evidence-based analysis and opinion on dietary fads, exercise, metabolism and the like, it’s yer only man. I’m too much of a light-weight, I’m afraid.

There are gadget and app reviews, but they’re almost secondary to the main focus of the text. The author does make recommendations of best uses of the tools available, and points to a number of excellent websites from which you can get more in depth information on the topics he covers.

Perry looks in some detail at exactly what diet and exercise do to the human body, what works and what doesn’t. There’s lots of science and technicality. There are also lifestyle tips, interviews and case studies. It’s a thorough treatment, but a bit too thorough for me: in places I found myself glazing over as things got more technical and detailed than I could digest.

I’d recommend this as a great reference text to have at hand to dip in and out of when you have specific queries and want detailed information rather than a one-liner: for example, why do we need certain vitamins, and what happens if you exceed the RDA – and for that matter, what is an RDA, and how does someone decide what it should be? But it’s not a fast-paced, cover-to-cover motivational read, so if that’s what you’re after, look elsewhere.

You can find out more about the book and order it direct from O’Reilly here.

I Shot the Serif

@DaveGorman gave this a mention on twitter a couple of days ago, and I had to give it a try.

Available for free as a web app and for iThings, I Shot the Serif is a fun way to squander a few idle moments. And you can tell yourself that you’re developing useful proof reading skills while you’re at it.

Basically, you’re presented with a grid of random letters, half of which are in serif fonts and half in sans-serif. You have to select (shoot) the serifs, and leave the sans-serifs alone. You’re playing against a timer, and are allowed a certain number of mistakes. The higher the level you play at, the less time you have, and the fewer mistakes that are allowed.

The 5yo (still high on his zombie shooting buzz from last week) was keen to have a go when he saw me playing, and I was impressed by how well he did. I’m kidding myself that it’s helping him improve his reading skills (he does whisper the names of the letters to himself as he inspects each one), but really I know he just likes the sound effects.

Downsides: I found that on the iPhone this crashed very frequently, often when I was on my way to a highscore. And the shooting sound effects were a bit much for me, so I played with the volume off. Aside from those 2 niggles, it’s great fun.

Math Vs Zombies

Math Vs Zombies Logo What more could you ask for really?

In this free iThing zombie shoot-em-up, you shoot the zombies, collect ammo and health packs by solving the simple equation atop your target. Different levels have different classes of maths problems (addition, subtraction, multiplication and division), and different levels of difficulty.

I let my 5 year old play this for about 15 minutes yesterday and could not believe how much quicker he was at mental arithmetic by the end of it.

Because the problems associated with the zombies change each time you play a level, though stay in the same class and difficulty level, you can replay the same level over and over to suit the player’s ability, rather than being forced to move on a level, and it still sustains interest.

Screen layout changes on iPhone (numbers along edges) and iPad (number pad bottom centre) to make the numbers easier to reach, which is a nice touch.

Only problem I had with it is that you can wind up with multiple items on screen at the same time that have the same solution, and you don’t get a say in which of them gets shot/picked up, so the zombies will sometimes get you because you pick up ammo instead of shooting. This led to one or two moments of frustration for the small person.

Still, it’s fun in small doses and definitely has an educational outcome.

Baby-Related Podcasts

In response to the baby boom my friends and family are currently participating in, I recently wrote a post rounding up some baby-related websites.

Today, I’m going to cover a few pregnancy- and baby-related podcasts that I’ve found useful and enjoyed. I err more towards “this is what it’s like in the real world” content, than “here’s the official medically approved line” bumph. The podcasts recommended below will include plenty of information and upbeat humour, but will also include political griping, moaning about life being tough at times, and off topic items the presenters feel strongly about. I feel it’s part of their charm.

Pregnancy podcasts

Dan and Kerry over at Baby Timehave 2 kids and have been podcasting about parenthood since they were in the early stages of pregnancy with their first son. They’ve since added a second baby to the mix. Episodes are labelled to include the boys’ ages (or stage of gestation), so it’s easy to dip in to an episode that lines up with your own current stage. They’ve also neatly compiled groups of podcasts that cover:
- Baby Time: 1st Trimester
- Baby Time: 2nd Trimester
- Baby Time: 3rd Trimester (and their birth stories)
PregTASTIC is a panel podcast where a selection of women at different stages of pregnancy discuss their own experiences. There are regular guests with areas of expertise related to pregnancy and early childcare. And panellists come back to tell their birth stories once their babies are born. Lots of fun and banter, and it’s easy to get attached to the women. This was a hard one to unsubscribe from even when it stopped being relevant to me. In fact, writing this blog post is making me crave a couple of episodes!
Ruth and John over at Just Relax, It’ll Happen! have successfully had two children using IVF. Their podcast covers fertility issues, pregnancy, the post natal depression they both suffered from after baby number one, and life as a family. This podcast is in stasis at the moment, but old episodes are worth a listen. Ruth is now blogging and vlogging as the geekmummy.

Podcasts on living with small people

Again, the Baby Time folks have compiled podcasts covering when one or other of their boys was a specific age:
Dr Mike at PediaCast covers paediatric news (with a US focus), translated for the lay person, and answers listeners’ questions on particular health and medical issues they’re having with their kids. There’s a decent archive of old episodes, so there’s a good chance you’ll find your question answered already.
New Moms, New Babies was a podcast that erstwhile PregTASTIC panel members graduated to once their bumps had turned into babies. It’s also in stasis these days, but as with so many other podcasts related to a particular time in one’s life, the archives are worth a listen.

If one of your favourites didn’t get a mention here, please feel free to recommend in the comments!