Monday, November 26, 2012

IT'S SOOOO AMAZING! YOU SPIN THIS THING ON THE GROUND AND IT GOES ROUND AND ROUND. I COULD WATCH IT ALL DAY:  With Cyber Monday** upon us and the eight days of Hanukkah fast approaching, can we collaborate on good gift ideas for kids?

Two I'd like to recommend: ThinkGeek as a general resource for brainy kids (and grownup) stuff, and (as taught to me by the elder Spacechild) the card game Monopoly Deal, which is just endless strategic fun to excite a child's inner Machiavelli. 

** A friend asked on social media this morning: do we still use the term cyber in any other context other than today's online sales? It wasn't that long ago that some of us edited an entire legal volume titled The Law of Cyberspace.

15 comments:

  1. Well, we still talk about cybersecurity and cyberwarfare. Admittedly a bit of a niche use.

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  2. And there's "cyberstalking." I'm also fond of "cyberchondriac."

    But, generally, it's a word we avoid when pitching to our college students, for fear of sounding outdated.

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  3. andrewraff10:52 AM

    Monopoly Deal is definitely a perfect smaller gift. The game is amazingly addictive. Not just great to play with children, but very fun for all ages.

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  4. The Perplexus Maze series is great for the kind of kid who would be into that kind of thing. (That is, the kind who won't get frustrated and throw it across the room.)

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  5. One of our favorite family games is Quirkle, and it's a great price on Amazon right now. We like it because it's easy to understand for kids of various ages, and our semi-impatient 9-year-old son will actually sit still through an entire game.

    http://www.amazon.com/MindWare-M32016-Qwirkle-Board-Game/dp/1933054395

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  6. I was wondering about "cyber," too. After all the Black Friday media hype went away, all the talking heads started concentrating on Cyber Monday. It struck me this year as really outdated. Even cybersecurity and cyberwarfare sound dated to me. I don't have any suggestions for bringing the terms into an age when even my parents are comfortable ordering things online, but it seems like we need something less mid-'90s.

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  7. In my field, we use "cybersecurity" all the time, but we often abbreviate that term with "cyber." As in, "The Administration is really focused on cyber right now." every time I've heard the phrase "Cyber Monday" the past week, my reptilian brain has reacted with a bit of anxiety, because it sounds kind of like what we'd name the day of a major attack.

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  8. Adam, how many of those "Comments" at the end were retrofitted Lessig papers?

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  9. Also - in my field we use cybersecurity a lot, but we often shorten it to "cyber." As in, "The Administration is really focused on cyber right now." So when I hear "Cyber Monday," my reptilian brain reacts with anxiety, because it sounds like what we might call the day of a major attack.

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  10. As for deals -- If you're ready to do it, Snapfish has half off on holiday cards. I designed and ordered mine yesterday, and was psyched about the deal. The code is JINGLE.

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  11. Marnie7:21 PM

    In Pennsylvania we have "cyber charter schools." (And yes the term describes completely virtual schooling). But otherwise the term seems especially ancient...

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  12. DUDE. Not one of you has told me what to get my 14 month old niece for Hanukkah/Christmas!

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  13. Sheila9:12 AM

    Ball Popper! Especially since you (presumably) don't live with her and therefore don't have to listen to the music or chase after wayward balls. Seriously though, that is a toy that both my kids loved around that age, and still get a major kick out of at 2 and 4.

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  14. Marsha12:13 PM

    Ball poppers are baby crack. I have no idea why, but I've never met a kid who wouldn't play with one for hours on end.

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  15. My son loves Yatzee Hands Down (similar card game to Monopoly Deal). A third one in the set, Sorry Revenge, was a dud at our house.

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