AOTD Episode 11

Peep and the Big Wide World is an educational cartoon based off an animated movie by the same name. Peep is a small bird and he's joined by other birds named, Quack and Chirp. The series has gone through a some changes over the years, but viewers in the US can catch the series on PBS. The only sponsor of the show at the moment is the National Science Foundation.

Peep Paint Splash is an educational game that's available on Android, iOS and on the Web. It's a very simple game that allows children to learn about colors. Peep will show a color, (like Orange) and the child will control Quack, who can jump on paint tubes containing different primary colors. The game will ramp up in difficulty only if the child gets the simple colors correct.

The game is free and it's good for some quiet time to show your little one about mixing colors, not to mention that the animation when you clear the board for new colors is really funny! Caleb loves to watch the hose get everyone wet.

This is a great series, and the episodes are on Netflix (that's how we found them) and feature an animated portion of the show followed by a short live action segment with kids where the kids explore the concept from the cartoon segment.

I recorded the segment using a new app and I'm on the fence about how it sounds. Please leave me some feedback at John  AT   aspectofthedaddy.com.  Thanks!

Download: Android
Download: iOS 
Download: Browser (Flash Game)

Aspect of the Daddy is a little segment that you can hear at the end of the HearthCast podcast every week. I like to talk about games, tech and sometimes life in general when you have a little toddler/preschooler to handle. Please head to http://www.hearthcast.com/ to download episodes! Special thanks to Freckleface and Rewt for letting me crash on their podcast! 

AOTD Episode 10: Ingress

Today on Aspect of the Daddy, I am talking about a little (free!) game called Ingress. Ingress is Android only for now, although I've seen port of it on iOS and a ton of rumors about it coming to iPhone, there's nothing official right now beside Android. It works equally well on phones and tablets, as long as the tablet has GPS built in.

Basically, Ingress is a type game that forces you to go outside and see parts of your town you might not have paid much attention to before. At its very best, you get to go out and get some walking in, lose weight and get to know the other players that are in your town as you coordinate attacks on the enemy and set up defences. At its worst, you stay in your car and play as you drive around town. People notice you circle the block 5 times and you look like a creeper.

My first tiny control field. 

Either way, Ingress is a fun game. You find portals in your town, usually public buildings like post offices or fire stations, and you hack them for items. These items can be used to actually take control of the portals and win them for your faction. There are two factions, and the back story is really interesting if you are into that sort of thing, but for simplicity's sake, there are green and blue factions.

When you get three portals won for the same faction, (green or blue) you can link them together and for a control field. The population that lives in these control fields are added to your score. (In the lore, you are actually are controlling the people in your control fields to side with your faction.) So the more people you influence, the higher your score and the faction with the highest score wins.

As you can see, this is a game being played all across the world! It's a pretty neat thing to get into and if you get to high levels, you are really pull off some incredibly large control fields when you coordinate with other people. 

You can really get into the lore and feel like you are really out there to help humanity if you want to, or just go out and have fun and lose some weight. I really enjoy walking around with my son and capturing portals, and he likes the sounds and stuff in the game. I let him push the buttons to hack and place items so we both have a good time. Give Ingress a try!

Download: Google Play

Aspect of the Daddy is a little segment that you can hear at the end of the HearthCast podcast every week. I like to talk about games, tech and sometimes life in general when you have a little toddler/preschooler to handle. Please head to http://www.hearthcast.com/ to download episodes! Special thanks to Freckleface and Rewt for letting me crash on their podcast! 

[Review] Otterbox Defender for iPad Mini with Retina Display

There is something very comforting about knowing that there is an Otterbox on my iPad Mini 2, and in this review I will cover what works and what doesn't. OtterBox is well known for having high quality products, but does that mean you should fork over your hard earned money for an Otterbox? Read on to find out.

NEWGUARD KX Case and Screen Armor Review for the iPhone 5/5S

NUGUARD KX for the iPhone 5/5S

Note: Newer Technology provided the NUGUARD KX review case and NUGUARD KXs screen protector free of charge in exchange for a review.

I've been lucky enough to review quite a few cases over the years, and it's always somewhat concerning to my wife how excited I get when a case comes in for review. One the surface it might seem silly to get all worked up over a simple case, but think about that for a second. A case is purchased to protect and personalize one of the most expensive items we carry on our person almost all the time. Often, we touch the case more than the phone itself, and if you plan to flip your phone and sell it used, a case can actually be an investment. Phones that are mint are fewer and harder to find the longer a phone has been out and if you can find a case that is both pleasing to your hand and offers superior drop and impact protection will actually save you money when it comes time to sell your used phone.

Having said how important it is to invest in a good case, there are people out there that don't want to spend more than a couple of dollars on their cases. These are the same people that run around with cracked screens and battered phones.

First things first, if this is too long to read, here's my summation of the NUGUARD KX case. It rocks. It feels terrific in my hand and that’s very important. This is quite possibly the best-feeling case that I’ve ever had on any of my phones. The case has a soft-touch rubber texture that is not only grippy, but also has a premium feel to it. The NUGUARD KX also has a textured cross-hatch on the back that helps with the grip on the phone.

The case also protects your phone from drops and impacts. There is a gel inside the case that helps absorb and protect your phone, and directs energy from the fall away from the phone. New Technology also claims this case conforms to military specs. All I know is I’ve been extremely pleased with not only the quality of the case, but also the looks of the case. It’s pretty sharp looking.

Many people don’t like having to sacrifice thickness for protection. There are other cases out there that offer great protection from falls, but it’s an act of Congress to get the phone out of the case. Or there’s three different layers to take off, and locking tabs that break if you take the phone out too much. The NUGUARD KX case is one-piece and slips on and off the phone in seconds. The fit and quality of the case is excellent. I didn’t feel like I was damaging the case at all while I was putting the case on or off, nor was there any play between the phone and the case once it was installed. The Lightning Port and side switches are easy to access. The NUGUARD KX case doesn’t muffle the speakers of the iPhone 5 at all, and adjusting volume and turning the iPhone 5 on and off was effortless straight out of the box. There wasn’t any stiffness to overcome. The NUGUARD KX also has an important feature, the front of the case has a lip on it. This allows you to place the iPhone face-down on a table and the KX will protect the glass from being damaged or scratched by whatever you set the phone down on. 


Speaking of the glass, I was also provided a NUGUARD KXs screen protector. The case was made specifically for the screen protector so the two went together very easily. They complement each other very nicely. The screen protector doesn’t just protect against scratches, it has a protection and absorption layer in addition to an adhesive layer, offering three layers of protection. There’s video out there of the NUGUARD KXs screen protector taking a hammer to the face and living to talk about the tale. Amazing stuff. Installation was easy and the provided tools and directions were excellent. However, I managed to mess up the installation and when I put the case on the iPhone, the edge of the screen protector squished up against the case where I didn’t line up the screen protector accurately. I was able to pull the NUGUARD KXs up and reinstall it where it fit perfectly. Thankfully, you wouldn’t even be able to notice I messed up the installation. Testament to how well the NUGUARD KXs screen armor is built.

As a combination, the case and the screen armor of the NUGUARD KX series makes an excellent way to protect your iPhone 5 or iPhone 5S. They are an affordable way to ensure your iPhone stays in tip-top shape, not to mention the peace of mind you will have knowing your precious device is in good hands. 

The NEWGUARD KX series cases and screen armor 

are available for purchase on Amazon

Hitbliss April 14, 2014

So there's quite a few ways for people to go out and make some money on the side, in your spare time. One of the ways you can earn a little credit on the side, is through a program called, HitBliss. Hitbliss is basically a program that shows you ads and you get credits for watching those ads. While there are some movies and TV programs that you can buy through Hitbliss itself, you really get maximum value through this program when you link Hitbliss to your Amazon account. Linking to Amazon lets you watch or rent a wide variety of TV shows and movies through Amazon Instant Video.

There are a couple of things to keep in mind though. You have to push a button that randomly pops up to prove that you are actually watching the ads. There is a trust level system, where you level up the more times you prove that you are at the screen watching the ads. The higher your trust level, the longer you can go before you are prompted to prove that you are watching. Also, you can only earn $6 in credit at a time. Once you hit that $6 limit, you have to spend it before you can earn more money. And don't think you can bury Hitbliss and click over while you do other things. If you are doing something in another window, and you have the focus away from Hitbliss, it stops and you don't get any credit until you click back on it.

While it's a little repetitive, there's nothing wrong with spending a couple of minutes to earn credit to watch a show that you would otherwise pay for. If this is something you are interested in trying, please click the link below.

Sign up for free! Hitbliss