OK, they are not really motherboards, they are just small printed circuit boards with simple projects for kids as part of our STEM week projects.
These projects are typically under $10 and vary in scope and complexity.
We tried a clock and a musical board.
The first word I have to describe these is SMALL!
Tiny parts, hard to read and difficult to understand, but isn't that the point? To challenge young minds with projects that make them think. Projects that build on deductive reasoning and get them off their phones for a few minutes a day.
These simple projects and a less than $10 soldering iron will keep kids busy for hours.
It is a good entry project into electrical engineering, helping kids understand basic components and how the boards are assembled.
At one time back in the 70's you could walk into any Radio Shack store in any mall and get these projects, but they are now out of sight and out of mind.
We wanted to make parent aware that these kits are available online and serve as important catalysts in steering careers toward engineering.
The more your kids know, the stringer they are.
We have shown a few items in STEM week and this was Mr Dog Poop's favorite because he was personal friends with Thomas Edison back when he invented electricity.
As the comedy podcast goes... there are no fibs to big to tell.
It is important to entertain in order to educate and while educating people is not the focus of the man show, we figured what not for a few days, what can it hurt?
Mountain House Adventure Meals - A LIVE prep & taste test of 4 freeze dried survival mealsIn this episode of the man show, we try some of the Mountain House Adventure meals for texture, quality and taste. What that, the guys had mixed opinions about the meals and Mr Dog Poop did not think the bacon and eggs was edible while Jeff sucked down the entire feed bad. These feed bags are very convenient for travel since the are dry, very light and last for decades in any storage condition. Of course, you still need access to clean water which might be problematic in a survival situation. But for camping, hiking or travel they are a great option at around $10-$15 per meal. The amount of food in each was surprising and likely enough to feed 2 people. The beef stew had almost no beef and was relatively tasteless. ...read more
$25 Panini Press Review Egg Sandwich? Ribeye Steak? Rubens? Patty Melt? What will it cook? As it turns out this little dynamo is pretty good for the under $25 price tag. We actually made the mistake of trying to make Panini sandwiches rather than just using it as a small kitchen grill. The most success we had was cooking a previously frozen ribeye steak. Then we cooked a cube steak and made a patty melt and even cooked some sausage patties. While the big challenge was to make Rubens, we may have over stacked the sandwich for the size of the Panini press. Regardless, the grill out performed our expectations and it did burn us a few times. We did have some complaints about the design, it was definitely not very user friendly and expect at least a couple burns until you get familiar with the set up. But ...read more
STEM Electric Piano - Assembly and Review Friday's episode of The Man Show Live featured a PLAYZ Piano made for kids. Our overall opinion of the PLAYZ Piano was that it was a bit simple for kids over 5 years old and maybe not dynamic enough for kids to learn about electronics. It was one of the more expensive toys during STEM week at around $35 which could have bought a little more education in other items. The white keys did play, but the black keys were only part of the case and decoration only, so as far as a piano, it missed the mark and is not a good learning tool for music. It can be a fun toy for a 3 year old, but at that age, the chance of them wiring it up is slim. We could not really find any good points about the PLAYZ ...read more
Preserving food for the Zombie Apocalypse with a $25 Vacuum Packer Can a $25 vacuum sealer do the job. In this episode the guys manage to show their complete incompetence in operating a kitchen vacuum sealer. They just can't make it work. Is the the machine or the operators? It turns out, it was the operators and their stubborn man attitudes in failing to read the directions. Mr Dog Poop brings out a larger commercial type sealer and shows how it is done, man style. They try to preserve some severed hands, feet etc. But it looks like these guys need some help if either is going to survive the zombie apocalypse. Unless you can survive solely by drinking beer and being stupid. Since that is not likely, these guys may be SOL. But at least you can watch their incompetence live on The Man Show Monday through Friday ...read more
