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Family

UMTYMP Test Tips for Parents and Students

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The University of Minnesota Talented Youth Math Program (UMTYMP) is one of the most coveted programs for Minnesota kids who are interested in math and parents who really, really want their kids to be good at math. UMTYMP has a notoriously difficult entrance exam, and the better prepared your kid is, the better chance they have … Read more

Wait, Ten Years? What?

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It is clear that I have always been a genius. Ten years ago, I started this blog. It was called the Eichenblog because that is the cleverest thing I could come up with that played off my name and the fact that this is a blog. Wow. My first entry was pure writing gold, too. … Read more

Atomic Robo RPG

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One of them was a traveling computer programmer specialized in dino video games. The other was a geologist who thinks he’s unlucky. They’re Action Scientists and just started jobs at Tesladyne. They faced off against genetically engineered miniature dinosaurs and eventually Dr. Dinosaur himself.

The best thing about the Atomic Robo Role Playing Game is that it encourages storytelling and creativity from everybody at the table. When I ran a game with my two boys they got to go crazy with the details of their characters, the scenario, and even the ultimate solution to the little mystery. It was great fun and I’m really looking forward to playing again.

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Root Beer: The Eichenlaub Special, Dark

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It’s always best to have a brewing buddy around. Your buddy can keep you from

My brewing helper and the mess we made
My brewing helper and the mess we made

getting bored, think of new ideas to tweak your brew, and help you double check measurements.

Gabe is my new brewing buddy. We ran out of root beer a couple weeks ago and he helped me brew up a new batch. It might be a while before I teach him how to brew a stiff IPA, but for root beer this kid is the best.

We use the kitchen scale for all of our measurements. Once everything is in a big bowl we dump it into hot but not boiling water and stir it until it’s dissolved. Then I put the mixture into the five gallon keg and fill the rest of the way with water. Once carbonated it makes a pretty decent root beer and a seriously excellent root beer float.

Here are the ingredients for the latest brew:

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Calvin and Hobbes

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Isaac has decided our Halloween costumes already. It started when he picked up his first Calvin and Hobbes book.  He loved it.  This crazy kid has all sorts of crazy stuff happen and then he gets in trouble and stuff? It’s good stuff. He also made the connection that he is a blonde kid, who … Read more

Holding Pattern

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Carol and I had another appointment with our midwife this morning. We got to experience a Non-Stress Test, which basically involves Carol sitting in a comfortable chair for half of an hour. Monitors told us that Tony, Son of Tony’s heartbeat is normal and that he is reacting appropriately to contractions. His heartrate increases a … Read more

Fred Ate the Baby

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That’s right, Fred’s gone and done it. The hunger cravings have taken control. He finally snapped and.. wait.. the baby hasn’t been born yet.. Fred actually ate the substitute baby. See, as a joke when I set up the carseat in Carol’s car I went through the trouble of strapping in a bag of flour. … Read more