Geek Dad - Awesomely Geeky Projects and Activities for Dads and Kids to Share product reviews

Packed with great activities any geek kid would give their eye teeth to get stuck into alone or with dad, this book is a great way for dads to (re)connect with their offspring in a fun learning way. Of particular note were some activities that may be a little beyond the average Joe Geek to make happen - such as sending a camera up on Helium balloons - but there are more than enough simple, relatively inexpensive options too, such as the all-year fireflies, and the "make your own Lego-block ice-cube moulds".

To be blunt, almost all, if not actually all, of these activities have been floating around on the internet - YouTube in particular - for years, but with so much crud clogging up the net, sometimes it's difficult to locate the geeky gems... or all too easy to get sidetracked by other interesting-but-impractical video clip tutorials. This book brings some of the best offerings into one place and puts them fair square in the hands of those who love the feel of a medium that doesn't rely on an ISP and a power company to give you access.

With NZ still recovering from the big earthquakes to a degree, and the looming threat of more possibly to come, some of these geektivities could find themselves a part of survival kits - example, the all-year fireflies could prove to be invaluable to have on hand in the midst of another disaster when the power gets taken out.

Overall, I think this book is sheer brilliance, and I would love to see a second, or third, or heck a whole series of them! MacGyver at his best would have found these books to be a great bedtime read, and possibly learned a few things to deal with the modern world too.