Monthly Archives: February 2016

Blogging, Conferences, Friends, Photo-A-Day, Travel, Vlog

Goodbye Dad 2.0 Summit till #Dad2Summit 2017

Funky Craft Beers from Blue Jacket Brewery
Photo-A-Day #3967

Today was the last day of Dad 2.0 Summit. It was one incredible experience. I got to see so many of my old friends, some even appear in today’s vlog, and make some new ones. I was incredibly lucky all around. From winning a Miller Grant, to rooming with the generous and cool Dave Taylor, to winning a major gift card from Dove Men+Care and to go to a great YouTube event at Blue Jacket Brewery. Yes, it was a simply incredible day with a fantastic group of men and women. I waited way too long to attend but glad that I finally went. I’m all ready to go next year to San Diego. It is going to be incredible.

I did not know Oren Miller. I had heard the name when he passed. I learned of him and this weekend learned more of his legacy through his wife, his friends and this community. He is someone that I wish I had met. I understand why the scholarship fund was named for him. I am so incredibly lucky to receive one of these grants. It helped me big time for my being able to come to this event. It also hooked me in to going back to other Dad 2.0 Summits in the future. The other thing that makes me extremely lucky was that I won a $500 gift card from Dove Men+Care, the title sponsor for Dad 2.0. I tweeted many times for the sweepstakes and was amazed when I learned that I had won. So, my saving for Dad 2.0 Summit 2017 is $500 closer. Which is good because I can’t take the train to this one, it is in San Diego, CA.

I was also very lucky to room with Dave Taylor. Long ago he posted in the Dad 2.0 Group asking for a guy who doesn’t snore. Well, I don’t believe that I snore but Allison certainly thinks that I do. I was a bit nervous that I would be snoring away and keeping Dave up all night long. But it was all good. We both slept, worked and talked. He was so generous and I cannot thank him enough.

I also ended the day with a trip to Blue Jacket Brewery with YouTube Kids. My friend Leticia invited me to this event which was a lot of fun. Some great beers, food and time to hang out with friends new and old. Speaking of friends new and old take a look at Today’s vlog.

Blogging, Conferences, LEGO, Photo-A-Day, Toys, Travel, Vlog

BenSpark in the Spark!Lab at #Dad2Summit

The Dad 2 Summit LEGO Minifig
Photo-A-Day #3966

Dad 2.0 Summit Day two consisted of many sessions with great speakers, time to talk with brands and a special trip to the Smithsonian. It was a day packed with so much awesome from start to finish. I was up early and reading comics on my iPad before showering and heading down for breakfast. I met a few people and had a nice breakfast talking about toys and being a dad and much, much more.

After breakfast was the opening session and Brad Meltzer was the speaker. He was excellent and made me want to read his comics and his kid’s books. Probably some of his novels as well. I just did a quick search on Brad and come to find out, I listened to The Zero Game on audiobook years ago. I liked it and should probably read more, and even more of his comic book work. But what really ht me were the kid’s books that he has done. Those looked amazing. The Abraham Lincoln one sounds incredible.

The trip tot he Smithsonian was an interesting one. I got to see the Star Spangled Banner from the Francis Scott Key song. I was so impressed by the sheer size of it. It was amazing. Then seeing a bunch of fun exhibits was cool. I think I spent way too much time creating something with LEGO for the SparkLab but that was fun too. I made today’s vlog partially in the SparkLab and that was fun. My friend Derek of Dads Landing joined me for part of the vlog today. That was fun. Check it out below.