Come fly with me!

Independent startups always intrigue me. Maybe because one of my life to-dos is invent something amazing or start an amazing something or, well, do anything that is amazing and actually useful and hopefully not hurting dolphins. But most independent products have the appearance of something, well, made in someone's garage. (Though Mr. Dub just informed me that Google was started in a garage, but it's harder to judge someone's cyberness.)

As a result, I wasn't expecting much when I was asked to review Andy's Airplanes, a new 3D animated DVD series. But then I spoke to its creator, Jon Pierre Francia - who is also an aviation flight instructor and TV producer - and felt his sheer enthusiasm for the project, which in turn raised my expectations. And I wasn't disappointed.

I literally blown away by the animation on "Andy Meets the Blue Angels." Not only were the graphics cool, but the storyline was interesting and engaging. Miss Dub, who typically doesn't respond to any show that doesn't involve puppets, was mesmerized by Andy and his adventure, which involves performing with the legendary Blue Angels and learning about the naval tradition.

One thing I really liked is that while Andy is a curious kid, he's also kind and respectful. Jon Pierre - yes, I like any excuse to use his Frenchy name - made sure to let me know that he's not interested in adding a bratty character, as is the norm on most kid's cartoons these days, because he wants the entire episodes to be filled with good examples and respectful fun. Merci, Jon, for that!

Anyway, the episodes are a nice blend of fun and info. Kids will learn a lot about planes, including a live-action segment at the end where two kids talk more about the specific plane featured. I even laughed at a few of the jokes. (No clue if that's a comment on the high level of humor featured or my lowered standards after months of Teletubbies.)

Finally, there's a fan club that kids can join that includes cool stuff like stickers and a passport and all kind of other goodies you can see here.

The only negative to Andy's Airplanes is that the animation and content really is still too old for Miss Dub to understand. And, to be honest, I think boys will dig these DVDs more than girls because boys and airplanes just seem more natural for some reason. But I could be wrong.

But if you are going to support an independent startup, support this one. You can buy the DVDs here. And then you can act all cool and say things like, "Oh, Jon Pierre, pass me the French fries." Or whatever.

Paco prints a pretty picture

Procrastination reared its ugly head when it came to this review. Which honestly makes no sense because I was actually really excited about the HP Photosmart 626 Printer and two photo books that Parent Bloggers Network sent me eons ago. (For those without Dub decoder rings, eons = months.) But having just finished a mammoth scrapbook for Miss Dub's first birthday - nothing fancy, but involving a good 300 photos - I was hesitant to be near pictures again.

Knowing how technology generally works, I feared my late start would be an issue, so imagine my surprise when I set up and printed a picture in less than 15 minutes, with nay a phone call to an HP representative in Bangalore or Boston. It really was super simple. Point 1 for my printer, whom I've lovingly named Paco.

Paco, by the way, is quite small - about the size of a small loaf of bread - which is good since my desk is pretty much rented out currently. He also features a touch screen, which you can control surprisingly easily with your finger or an included stylus. I likes the finger method as it seems more personal.

To print your pics, you just pop in your memory card. This is the only tricky part, and one where Paco is in danger of losing some points. Because I'm a frequent blogger and organizational freak, I upload my memory card about every 10 pictures and promptly delete the entire thing. So unless I've just come from a vacation - oooh, doesn't Chile sound tempting this time of year? - I'm not going to have much to work with, much less enough to make a memory book. If you want to print photos from your computer, you have to purchase a separate USB cable. Sorry, Paco, but I do find that a little disappointing. Then again, we seem to have USB cables coming out the wazoo at our house, and while an overflowing wazoo can be embarrassing, it can also come in handy.

Anyway, whatever method you so choose to use to get your pics up on the printer screen, you can then use the (highly responsive!) touch screen to perform basic photo edits - crop, remove red-eye, control lighting. And there's a feature called Get Creative that allows you to draw, write captions, add pictures frames and a variety of other cool things that I insisted using all at once with tacky results. You can't save the edited pics, but you can immediately print them in their pimped-out glory. Only bummer is that the screen is kind of small so it's a bit harder to see what you're doing than if you used a computer-based program like Photoshop, but it's much, much easier for a photo-editing amateur.

Though printing is slow, the pictures turn out great, which says a lot since I've always preferred to print mine at Costco. But now I feel so empowered because I can change the photo inside a picture frame without logging in online, though I would still opt for a professional if I were printing, say, 2,349 photos. But it could come in handy when you want to quickly share a photo with a friend or print a picture right after taking it.

Thinking about getting yourself a Paco? Well, first you must know that Paco is a one-woman kind of printer so you'll have to find yourself an HP Photosmart 626 Printer named Santos or Vincente. You can look in your Sundays ads for specials on the printer itself. But you can get 20% off the photo books at the HP Home & Office Store if you use this COUPON CODE: AC8595.

By the way, the photo books are pretty cool and easy to use. Each one comes with photo paper and software. With the smaller books, you just print the pics and snap them in. The larger books don't mean larger pictures - Paco does only 5x7 or smaller - but a nice piece of paper that you can scrapbook on and snap into the binding. (The snapping is a little weird - I felt like I was going to break the book, though I thankfully didn't.)

Oh, and if you don't have the kind of luck I did - and I don't mean to be rude, but pretty much it would take an idiot to have problems - there's a manual complete with a troubleshooting section that is easy to read and follow. You know, if you're the idiot type, and I usually am.

Now, excuse me while I have a romantic breakfast with Paco. He's printing out french toast. What a man!

Your name goes here!

You know that thrill you had as a kid when you saw your name on a souvenir license plate? Or when you heard it in the words of a song? Or when you discovered a character in a movie or book with your same moniker?

Well, Printakid is sort of like that, though you can't really get so excited because it's not fate or coincidence - you personally customize the book to feature your child as the main character along with the names of friends and family as other characters. You even get to describe your child's physical appearance to make the illustration most resemble your kid.

It was fun to order the book - thanks Parent Bloggers Network! - but I actually wasn't expecting it to be the final product to be very cool because their website is kind of basic. So I envisioned a really rudimentary book with Print Shop graphics. But I was pleasantly surprised. The books are nice - hardcover with fun illustrations and a clever story. We opted for a Christmas one without the accompanying CD, but there are five other story options, including one about robots. And you know how I love me some robots.

Unfortunately, I can't attest to Miss Dub's enthusiasm about the book because she neither reads nor recognizes her names beyond the the first letter at this point. Also, because I haven't let her touch the book yet. She's more fond of tearing pages right now than reading them. So until she moves past board books, it will have to be a novelty for me.

I think it's a fun Christmas idea, but what the heck do I know?

As Lavar Burton used to say, "But you don't have to take my word for it." Find out for yo'self!

Is your baby That Baby?

As you all know, Miss Dub is bit enamored with TV. Blame the media, blame her early morning risings - you can even blame me, though we all know the mother has nothing to do with this sort of thing, riiight? Whatever the cause, it makes for a happier Miss Dub, but a crankier Mrs. Me because I just can't stand to watch the stuff myself. (Especially the Teletubbies, but really anything on a 10th or 11th viewing.)

Enter That Baby DVD and That Baby CD. Made by a mom and dad who had similar thoughts - i.e. kids' TV and music makes us want to scratch our eyes out - it's a fresh take on baby entertainment. Basically, it's parent music sung by a soothing, folksy female artist named Stephanie Schneiderman, who participated in Lilith Fair back in the day.

Just take a look at the play list if you still think this is "Old McDonald" fare:

	Song	Made Popular By
	Happiness Runs	Donovan
	Circle Game	Joni Mitchell
	Sunday Sun	Neil Diamond
	When We Grow Up	(from Free to Be...You and Me)
	Pony Boy	Bruce Springsteen
	Brass In Pocket	The Pretenders
	Get Together	The Youngbloods
	Garden Song by Inch)	Peter Paul and Mary
	Anything is Possible	Jonny Lang
	Songbird	Fleetwood Mac
	These Are Days	10,000 Maniacs
	CD Bonus Tracks
	Three Little Birds	Bob Marley
	I Will	The Beatles
	St. Judy's Comet	Paul Simon

So That Baby CD is obviously a better option than most of your child's favorite music, unless you have a really cool kid who likes the original versions of this song, in which case, you're doing OK. (It's too early to tell with Miss Dub, though she does seem to be leaning toward hip-hop and Christmas carols.)



That Baby DVD is just the same songs in music video form. Some involve kids running around, others have cool graphics. But most important, they're all palatable for the adults, but engrossing enough for kids that you could probably sneak in some magazine reading while they watch.

The only bummer is that most of the songs aren't the top hits from these artists so there might not be as much joyous nostalgia as you're anticipating. Also, the music video quality is impressive for a small business venture, but it's no Noggin. And, finally, it might be geared more to toddlers than babies as Miss Dub seems to be getting into the groove with these more as she ages. Perhaps they should rename it That Toddler DVD?

But did I mention you never have to hear "Uh-oh!" or "Again, again!" again?

Head over here to purchase the combo yourself. Thanks to the Parent Blogger Network, you can enter PBN as a coupon code and get an additional 20% off! Oh, and there is a "no questions asked" money back guarantee, AND you can get a lifetime replacement on your DVD and/or CD. And we all know that kids never break things, right?

Now, I must go feed my child. Apparently, she likes three meals a day.