Category Archives: All Things Dad

Sagely advice from one who has this fatherhood thang down pat (I wish).

All Things Dad, All Things Geek

For you, sir, no recharge

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We have a lot of toys. A large portion of these toys utilize batteries for at least part of their operation. A few years ago, I made the decision that we would switch to almost exclusively rechargeable batteries. As of this writing, I estimate that I have about 240 rechargeable AA batteries and 132 rechargeable AAAs in my house. I will share with you some of what I have learned.

The case for rechargeable

Rechargeable batteries have a lot going for them. The most important points are as follows:

  • A consistent, dependable battery supply. We’ve all experienced it before. Beth is one year old, and instead of playing a lively tune, her favorite toy produces a garbled, off-key mess of sound when she pushes the magic button. She’s confused and upset, but you don’t have the right kind of battery available. With the proper strategy in place, which I will go over later, you can easily avoid this situation when using rechargeables.
  • Long-term savings. Rechargeable batteries are much more expensive than traditional alkaline cells. I typically spend about $3.00 per AA battery. In contrast, a typical alkaline AA costs about $0.35 – $0.50, when purchased in bulk. That means that you would need to recharge a battery between 6 – 10 times before you start to see savings from it, assuming that the two options provide the same amount of usage time (capacity).
  • No more leaking batteries. NiMH batteries do not leak. Let me say it again. They don’t leak! In my mind, this is a huge win.

The case for LSD

I did some research on rechargeable batteries. Most rechargeable batteries these days use NiMH (Nickel Metal-Hydride) technology, but there are two different types of NiMH battery: the standard NiMH cells, and a newer technology called “low self-discharge” (LSD) NiMH cells. Until very recently, these newer batteries have been somewhat overlooked for the following reasons:

  • They were more expensive than standard NiMH cells, though this may no longer be the case.
  • They have a lower capacity than standard NiMH cells. The capacity of a battery is measured in milli-amp hours (mAh), and a standard Energizer AA NiMH cell is rated at about 2500 mAh. The LSD cells that I buy are rated at only 2000 mAh.
  • They have been marketed as “pre-charged” batteries. So what? I can buy them and immediately put them into something without needing to charge them first. Is that really much of a benefit?

Then what is the actual benefit of LSD cells? Why am I willing to pay more for a lower-capacity battery? The secret is that LSD batteries hold their charge for a long time. Standard NiMH batteries tend to lose up to 20% of their capacity in the first day after they are removed from the charger even if they are not being used. After the first day, they then continue to lose up to 4% of their charge per day. The result of this leakage is that your 2500 mAh capacity cell could be reduced to only about 1600 mAh after sitting on a shelf for only a week. People who have encountered only the standard NiMH technology come away from the experience with the distinct impression that rechargeable batteries don’t last as long as their alkaline counterparts.

LSD batteries, on the other hand, can retain 70% – 80% of their charge after an entire year of sitting on the shelf. This is why they can be marketed as “pre-charged”. The rate of leakage is significantly lower.

Putting it into practice

Here are some tips that I have come up with for using LSD NiMH cells in a toy-heavy, child-oriented household:

  • Focus on a single brand. After some research, I settled on the Eneloop (Sanyo) brand of batteries. At the time, it was generally considered to be the best at providing consistently high output in demanding applications. It’s possible that the landscape has changed in the last few years, and other brands may be much more competitive. I have used the Sanyo batteries in a very wide range of applications for years now, and I am 100% satisfied with their performance. I have no desire to experiment with other options at this time.
  • Focus on AA and AAA. You can buy very inexpensive C and D spacers that allow you to use AA cells in situations that require C or D cells.
  • Use a slow trickle charger. There are faster (15 minute) chargers available, but they can damage the batteries after a while. Batteries get hot when charged quickly, and  heat damages batteries. I use a BC-700 from La Crosse Technology. Again, I did my homework before selecting this specific model.
  • Use a faster charger for emergencies, and to resurrect “dead” batteries. Some batteries get discharged so much that a trickle charger won’t recognize them. For these cells, I put them into a cheap Energizer charger for about 20 seconds and then my main charger will charge them without a problem.
  • Keep at least 10-20 spare each of AA and AAA. You never know when several toys will need replacement in a single day. Since charging takes a good 10-20 hours with a trickle charger, it’s good to have plenty of stock on-hand.
  • Keep your extra batteries charged and ready to use. When a battery comes out of a toy, it goes right into the charger, or into the “on deck” circle if the charger is already full. When the charger indicates that the batteries in it are fully charged, remove them and put in any other cells that are waiting to be charged.
  • Buy extra batteries in anticipation of large events such as birthdays and Christmas.
  • Be “religious” about your homogeneous battery selection. Use only the rechargeable battery that you have selected, and don’t allow other types or brands to work their way into your fleet. I even go so far as to throw away the batteries in any toy that ships with cells from the factory.

– danBhentschel

All Things Dad

Spring 2014 book search for Timmy and Nora (Part 1)

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Both Timmy and Nora are excellent readers. In fact, in the case of Timmy in particular, I have trouble keeping him supplied with books. He just goes through them so fast! So for birthdays and Christmas I put a decent amount of effort into researching potential books to add to my two eldest children’s wishlists.

A couple of months ahead of time, I scour the Internet in search of likely options. I then check to see if any of those are available to download as audio books from Audible, and if they are, I add them to my “library”. I can then listen to them and add individual books to the appropriate child’s Amazon wishlist if I think they’re a worthy option. Here’s the latest round of books, and my impressions, from my preparations for Nora’s birthday, in March. Part 2 will deal with my selections for Timmy’s upcoming birthday in July.

Selections for Nora

Nora thrives on characters, relationships, and animals.

Fairest of All – by Sarah Mlynowski

This is a kind of cute book about a young girl and her brother who get sucked through a magic mirror to a fairy tale land where they accidentally interfere with the course of Snow White’s story and have to try to set things right again. This first in the Whatever After series is silly, pointless drivel, in my opinion, but I’m not an 8-year-old girl. It’s harmless and amusing enough that I decided to give it the nod and recommend it for my daughter.

Fablehaven – by Brandon Mull

I absolutely love Brandon Mull. I’ve listened to several books by him now. My favorite is the Beyonders series. I have also experienced the first two of the Fablehaven books, and they are excellent for Nora. A level-headed adolescent girl and her brave, but foolish, brother find out that their grandparents are the caretakers of a preserve for magical creatures. Then things go horribly wrong and its up to them to resolve the situation.

Floors – by Patrick Carman

The first in a series of books. A boy grows up as the son of (and assistant to) the handyman for the most wonderful, bizarre hotel in the world. The hotel was designed and built by a genius and is full of secrets and surprises. When this designer goes missing, it’s up to the handyman’s son to follow a series of clues and solve the mystery of the disappearance. I wanted to like this one, but the various characters, settings, problems, and solutions are so random and nonsensical that I decided to give it a pass.

The Candymakers – by Wendy Mass

Four children join a candy making contest. At first the story seems pretty simple and straight-forward, told from the perspective of the son to the candy factory’s owner. Then, about a quarter of the way through the book, everything changes and the story is retold through the eyes of one of the other children. This process is repeated four times, once for each child, and by the end of the book nothing even closely resembles what it first seemed to be. The story and characters are masterfully revealed in stages, and surprises abound. After putting this book onto Nora’s list, I added Wendy Mass to my own mental list of authors to revisit in the future.

Young Fredle – by Cynthia Voigt

Fredle is a house mouse who breaks the rules and ends up in the outside world, a place where house mice never, ever venture. Against all odds, he survives, makes friends, learns, and grows. Will he ever get back into the house to see his family again? What will they think of his miraculous return? How will his adventures change his perspective on the life of a house mouse? A beautiful study of social groups and interactions at a level that is appropriate for young children. It’s on her list.

The One and Only Ivan – by Patricia Castelao and Katherine Applegate

This is a complex story. On the surface, there’s not much that happens in it. A gorilla and a baby elephant are caged in, of all things, a mall. Together, they conspire to escape to live in a zoo. Underpinning this simple text, though, is a deep narrative about cultures, communication, poverty, futility, abuse, death, hope, and success. I dithered on this one quite a bit. The story is perfect for Nora, but the themes involved are pretty heavy for an 8-year-old. In the end I decided to give it the green light.

Janitors – by Tyler Whitesides

The first in a series of books. A boy and a girl team up to help the janitors of their school fight against invisible magical creatures that prowl the hallways and classrooms, sucking up their classmates’ intellectual potential. This one is pretty dumb, but it’s definitely fun and pretty harmless. I know that Nora will enjoy it.

Pie – by Sarah Weeks

Set in a small town in the 1950s, this book poses a mystery about stolen pie recipes and a missing cat. Only a young girl and her new best friend can solve the case when all the adults in town are oblivious to the fact that anything untoward is going on. The characters and situations that come up in this story are entirely unlikely. It’s a testament to the author’s skill that it all comes together so seamlessly. Short, and sweet as its subject matter, I couldn’t resist adding this unique novel to Nora’s list.

The Candy Shop War – by Brandon Mull

The second Brandon Mull book in this list. Have I mentioned that I like Brandon Mull? This is the first book in a series about children who are caught up in a war between magicians who practice their trade by creating sweets with wondrous powers. Four friends discover this magical struggle and have to decide which (if any) faction to side with. Mull invents confections with deliciously intriguing effects, and then pits them against each other in increasingly surprising ways. Unique and intelligent all the way through, this one is a definite keeper.

– danBhentschel

All Things Dad

Play it again, Dad

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One of my goals as father is to help my children to find joy in their everyday, mundane tasks. I have always been a huge fan of music, and so it seems natural to me to pass on that joy of music to my young charges. With the advent of connected, do-anything, smart phones, these two objectives (enjoying daily tasks and learning music) coincide quite nicely. Let me elaborate.

I have my phone on my person at almost all times of the day. Outside doing yard work, in the bathroom brushing the kids’ teeth, cooking breakfast in the morning… At any time, I can switch on the tunes. My favorite time to crank it up is when getting ready for bed at night. Kids are going every-which-way, bedrooms, bathrooms, up and down stairs. Everyone is tired. Often emotions are high. A little bit of music just helps to smooth things over a bit.

Granted, my little phone doesn’t have the greatest audio quality, but for most situations, it is perfectly suited for some fun, unobtrusive, background accompaniment. I even have a playlist with kid-friendly music setup on my phone for just this purpose. It’s currently running around 120 songs, and I’m constantly on the lookout for new material to add to the mix.

Good sources of new music include:

  • Kids’ movies (especially the end credits)
  • Sports events (including things like Monster Jam)
  • Live shows (musicals, Disney on Ice, circus, etc.)
  • Televised events (parades, halftime shows, etc.)
  • School events (talent show, assemblies, etc.)

I have an application on my phone that I keep handy for just such times. If I hear a song that sounds exciting, or it is associated with a memorable event, then I launch “Sound Hound” on my phone. It listens to the music for a few seconds, and then (usually) is able to tell me the name of the song, and the artist. It even provides a handy link for me to buy the track from Amazon. I normally will do so (only $.99) and instantly add it to the kids’ playlist. Then later on, when they are brushing their teeth or taking a bath, the song will come on, and they will be all excited. “That’s the song from the movie we saw today, Daddy!”

I also get the inverse fairly frequently: we’ll be out and about, shopping at Wegmans or sitting at dinner at a restaurant, and one of the kids (usually Jasmin) will hear a song come on the radio and inform me, “That’s the song from on your phone, Daddy!”

It’s not a big thing. It doesn’t cost all that much in either time or money, and yet it makes quite an impression. I love it when Timmy is all excited to hear the Kidz Bop version of “Thrift Shop” come on, or when Jasmin starts hopping around (often in her undies while dressing) to the sound of One Direction, or when Jacob starts shadow boxing to “Eye of the Tiger”.

It all boils down to one simple fact: Making them happy makes me happy!

– danBhentschel