3 Ways to Make Paracord Survival Bracelets

So over the last couple years of doing programs, I've done Paracord Survival Bracelets a few times. Interestingly, each time I've used a different set of instructions. Now each one has their pros and cons, but I'm a huge fan of the most recent one I used. Check em out!!

1. Slide Release Buckle 

This was the first style that I used, but as it turns out, those slide buckles can be somewhat expensive. Noticing that, I just created a loop for the female end of the bracelet, and a big knot for the male end of the bracelet. This worked pretty well, but if the paracord stretches, the knot doesn't hold the bracelet together anymore. (I think this Instrutable has the best instructions for how to actually tie the cobra knots that make up your bracelet). 

2. Stretchable

When another Paracord program came up, I got really excited about this stretchable bracelet version. The basic idea is that you stretch it to get it on your hand instead of having a buckle or a knot. But, therein is also where we found the problem. The overall process of making the bracelet is the same, but to complete the bracelet you have to burn two ends of paracord together, and it isn't the easiest thing to do without burning yourself!! But, if you could keep your fingers from getting singed, this design could be really cool.

3. Loop and Knot: MY FAVE!!

Finally, at my most recent program I found this version, and it is my favorite by far. You still secure the bracelet with a loop and knot, but you have a length of cord that folds over and tightens the bracelet around your wrist. This makes it fit just the way you want it, without needing to buy any kind of fastener.

Zom-B: Whose the Bigger Monster??

Zom-B by Darren Shan

Why did I read it?

Shan has written a lot of books in this series, and one of the newest ones bounced across my desk this week. That and the short size of the book made me pick it up.

What happened?

Apparently, in a small town in Ireland, zombies attacked, condemning some to walk as the undead, and devouring the brains of others while they still lived.

But, B isn't necessarily convinced. Scared? Probably. In denial? Most likely. But, things at school will be the same (not worth much time), and things at home will be the same (a good thrashing for the smallest "supposed" infraction). 

So B keeps going on with life; terrorizing the younger classmates, joining Dad for some political meetings, and sleeping through lectures. But, B can't help but realize that there might be more truth than lies about the zombie thing, and that Dad's rantings might be more dangerous than B thought.

What did I like or not like?

As the title suggests, this book has some good, old-fashioned, bloody, gut-flying, scream-inducing zombie action. But, the build up to that point actually gets the majority of this first Zom-B installment.

Instead of focusing on the zombies, Shan focuses on what B realizes about hate, racism, bullying, and the monstrous side that has to be kept in check in all of us.

If blood and guts aren't your thing, than this probably isn't the book for you. But, Shan does a nice job of giving a fast-paced and exciting story that still has something to say.

Freegal: Free, Legal Music from Your Library

Have you ever tried to find "free" music online? Typically, you have to sign up for something you don't want, pirate the music from somebody, or get a bunch of free viruses instead of free music. But, I have a solution for you, as long as you have a library card =D

The solution is called Freegal, and its short for free, legal music, and that is exactly what it is.

First of all, Freegal, gives you access to the music of over 10,000 labels, most prominently Sony Music. Now, that doesn't mean it will have every song you could possibly want, but it does have a lot of them. In fact, I'm typically impressed with the amount of songs they actually do have.

Second of all, the music is completely free of cost (unless you are the library entity paying for the service which we already have) and DRM (digital rights management or that annoying thing that won't let you put YOUR music on multiple computers). Each song comes in MP3 format, and is super easy to download.

The only catch included is that each library card only gets 3 downloads a week. But, 3 free songs a week with no DRM, no cost, and no worry about spam or viruses?? Sign me up!! And actually that is the other nice thing. The only login is your library card number, and nothing else. So if you don't have a library card, get one, and if you do have one, start getting your free music.

P.S. Freegal will only work for those patrons that have a CIN (Cooperative Information Network) card, which pretty much covers the majority of Northern Idaho. There are a lot of other library systems that have Freegal, so if you aren't in North Idaho, check out your library and see if they offer the service as well.

Basketball Fun and Games

So I was originally going to do this post during the NCAA Final Four, and when that didn't happen I was going to do it during The NBA Finals, and when that didn't happen, I've decided to do it for Hoopfest.

Ball Toss

A basketball event wouldn't be a basketball event without a ball toss, and given the fun we had at our Football event, we definitely included it. This time, instead of knocking stuff off of a table, we were trying to land the balls inside of buckets. This wasn't as easy as it looked as the balls kept bouncing out.

Bouncing Polymer Balls

So I stole this Bouncing Polymer Balls recipe from About.com, and if we would have had more time to complete it, it probably would have worked. But, I wasn't as familiar with the recipe, so some of our bouncy balls came out more like sticky slime...but it was totally worth it. Basically you add borax dissolved in water to a glue and cornstarch mixture and knead it like crazy.

Bracket of Awesomeness

So I also borrowed this idea, this time from Air 1's Brant Hansen. Basically you create a bracket like most basketball tournaments, but instead of two basketball teams, you are pitting two awesome things against each other. Have your participants randomly populate your bracket with things that they think are awesome, and then vote as to which one moves onto the next round. Keep going until you have the awesomeness champion.

Death Cloud: A Thuthful and Exciting Young Sherlock

Death Cloud: Young Sherlock Holmes by Andrew Lane

Why did I read it?

Because Sherlock Holmes is awesome!! Whether its Robert Downey Jr., Benedict Cumberbatch, Arthur Conan Doyle's classics or Andrew Lane's clever prequels, the character is too awesome to pass up :)

What happened?

Fourteen year old Sherlock wasn't looking for trouble. He wasn't looking to put himself in danger's way. In fact, he was expecting a loathsome summer vacation living with his estranged relatives. But, that wasn't what he found. Near the Holmes Manor, two men die of mysterious symptoms reminiscent of the plague.

Assisted by a local street urchin named Matty, Sherlock begins investigating their strange deaths and realizes that they were not natural demises. But each time he gets closer to finding the truth, a strange man, referred to as the Baron, tries to stop him at any cost.

In order to survive, Sherlock will have to depend on the advice of his older brother, Mycroft, his resourceful American tutor Amyus Crowe, and his growing powers of deduction and logic.

What did I like or not like?

Because it felt like a feasible beginning to the Sherlock Holmes mythos. As Lane mentions in some interviews, Doyle didn't flesh out the childhood of his protagonist, but he did leave some clues. Lane uses these to write a compelling story of a Sherlock Holmes that is still discovering who he is and what he can do.

Apart from the clever and truthful adaptation, the story itself is solid, interesting, well-written, and I recommend it to anyone who enjoys Sherlock Holmes, or just a good action-filled mystery.

Fotor: Awesome Full-Feature Photo Editing for Free

As I might have mentioned before, Netted by the Webbys is pretty cool. I get a daily email from them with cool websites and things to try. Sometimes the stuff doesn't apply to me, and sometimes you can only get the cool stuff on devices I don't have. But sometimes, they mention something that I really want to try, and Fotor is one of them =D

As the name might imply, this is another photo editing system. But, the cool thing is that it is available for Windows, Windows 8, Mac, Android, iPhone, and is also absolutely free. Typically the free systems want you to sign up for an account, but I just loaded it for Windows and it didn't require any login. You can share your creations via social media, but Fotor says that it doesn't store your account information.

The other part that was cool about it is the comprehensive nature of the program. Some freebies want you to purchase the upgrade to get all the features, but Fotor seems to have everything you need absolutely free. I've just played with one photo (original on the left, Fotor version on the top), but I was impressed with the amount of things you could do.

In addition to the normal stuff like filters, frames, crop, straighten, and tilt, you can also do photo cards and collages. One other cool thing is the HDR (High Dynamic Range) feature. Basically, you take photos at different exposures and Fotor combines them into a photo that has the perfect exposure for those nasty shadows or over-exposed areas.

But don't take my word for it. Try it yourself...for free!!

Bake Chocolate-Chip Cookies =D

Even though our cooking programs are some of our best attended programs, they kinda sorta freak
me out sometimes. I'm always stressing about what things kids will enjoy cooking, what they will be able to cook, and ultimately where I'm going to get the recipes.

But, making chocolate-chip cookies just made sense and the kids had a really good time with it. I used a family recipe for Chocolate-Chip/Butterscotch Cookies (message me if you'd like it), and I'm sure each of you have your favorite chocolate-chip recipe that you could use.

The nice thing about this program is that it gets kids excited about making the goodies, and also gets them excited about the program in general because they get to eat cookies.

Finally, another benefit is if you have any leftovers (you'll probably have to fight the kids off with a stick) you can create some nice thank-yous for other staff members or departments.

If you decide to do this program I have two suggestions: (1) Bring a stand mixer (as the dough might be too thick for the kids to stir) and (2) break up each of the ingredients into smaller increments so all the participants can actually participate.

Have fun!!